


Shot Down

by Salakritz



Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe, Assassination Organisation Leader! Doflamingo, Based on the Kill Bill movies, Character Death, Doflamingo/Law, Ex Assassin! Law, Implied Kid/Law, Killing, M/M, Mention of massmurder, More characters to be added, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Violence, couldn't really bother with a proper summary tbh, summaries are the hardest part of writing a fic, title may change
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-20
Updated: 2020-09-14
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:34:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 38,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24826135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Salakritz/pseuds/Salakritz
Summary: A DofLaw Fic inspired by the Kill Bill movies. Law is out for revenge against his ex lover Doflamingo and his group after miraculously surviving the massacre on his wedding day where he lost everything but his own life.
Relationships: Donquixote Doflamingo/Trafalgar D. Water Law
Comments: 37
Kudos: 80





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> A Doflamingo / Law fic based on the Kill Bill movie(s) Vol 1 and 2. I think this movie(s) fits this pairing quite perfectly tbh. 
> 
> READ THIS so I won't have to explain it in the comments...pretty please.  
> !! I kind of have the story planned out, but not fully so idk how long it will take to update. It won't be too long, max 10 chapters. 
> 
> !!! It will NOT follow the Kill Bill movies completely, but it is heavily influenced by them. I've made changes and there will be reference to techniques from One Piece but they work differently in this universe. I will be making up martial art styles and techniques etc and keep in mind that this fic will NOT be very realistic, it's just me having fun with it and writing what I want.
> 
> !!! The first chapter is a PROLOGUE and I am purposefully avoiding referring to Doffy and Law by their first name. But only for this chapter. Doffy will be referred to He/Him/His with big H while Law will be refereed to with small h unless it's after a punctuation.  
> All clear? Groovy, then here's the first chapter!

_“Look what you made me do, gorgeous.”_

_“Ughh…” Was all he could manage then, unable to form comprehensible words in his current condition. Bloody, beaten and still in a state of shock that he was trying best he could to recover from. Though even with his experience and willpower it was certainly not an easy task; at this moment all he could accomplish was a weak glare at the man towering over him whilst desperately getting his breathing under control._

_Any normal person would most likely have passed out by now, he reckoned._

_A long sigh was exhaled above him; one that contained disappointment, resignation and a smidgen of remorse._

_“I take no pleasure in this, you know...”_

_The man trailed off as He loaded his gun with a round of bullets, shaded eyes observing the face He adored so much and that was currently sporting such desperation and pain it made Him feel awfully sentimental._

_But even at its worst, that face was so goddamn beautiful. It was such a shame He would never see it again._

_“In fact,” He continued, “what I’m about to do really fuckin’ pains my heart.”_

_Once the gun was fully loaded and ready, He got down on his haunches and hovered over the helpless body sprawled out on the marble floor. With His free hand He reached out and gently caressed a bloodied cheek, smearing the red liquid out even more over the tanned skin and cared little for the amount that came off on His own fingers._

_Tanned skin and a white suit; under different circumstances the blood would have made such a beautiful and delightful sight to behold. If only that white had belonged to the sheets of His bed and the blood the result of something more pleasurable._

_“As much as you’re hurting right now, my darling...I can assure you that you’re hurting_ **_me_ ** _even more. I hate seeing you like this, truly.”_

_Another cough and eruption of blood made it through the other’s trembling lips before they made a new attempt at getting a few words out._

_“D-Do...ffy. *Cough* Y-you promised…”_

_He wasn’t even fully aware of what he was saying. By now anything was pointless so it didn’t really matter, he knew, but it was purely desperation that drove him. The shock and pain snapped up by his nerves had made him near delirious and it was taking all he had not to slip into unconsciousness. His eyes were clouding over and it was with an unfocused, lost look that they stared up at the blurred face of the man who’d betrayed him. The man he’d once called his lover and mentor_ **_._ **

_He barely took note of the thumb that softly trailed over his quivering bottom lip, along with the equally soft tone that spoke the next words._

_“I know, gorgeous. I know.”_

**_You promised to be nice._ **

**_You promised to let me go_** _._

_Two promises. Yet when they were made, he had not considered the possibility that their ideas of what said promises entailed would differ so much that it became a matter of technicality. He hadn’t thought he would have had to specify their meaning to the other. Other people may have, perhaps, but not him. He thought he’d been able to convey his expectations clearly enough through the words and his expression alone. It was what their whole confrontation earlier had been built on. He'd thought they had come to an understanding._

_“They were killed quickly and painlessly for the most part. And instead of having Diamante or Vergo kill you, I’ll do it myself…”_

_The fingers moved upwards to brush some of his damp bangs out of his face._

_“...and before Trebol torches the place, I’ll make sure your body is taken outside.”_

_He should have known; the other’s understanding of the concept ‘Nice’ and ‘Let go’ was controversial to say the least._

_Be nice: No torture. Quick deaths. Your body will be left intact, found and buried properly._

_Let you go: Kill you. Erase you from this world and cut all ties. If I can’t have you, no one else can._

_Yes, after all these years of knowing the man he_ **_should_ ** _have known...but that weak, foolish part of him had been so eager to hope, rather than believe, that the history the two of them shared would compel Him to respect his decision. He’d believed that his happiness and freedom held at least_ **_some_ ** _value to the man. And most of all, he had not believed that He would ever be able to do something like this to him._

_It took all of his strength to lift his trembling arms -one of which was broken- and grab the front of the man’s suit, clinging to it pathetically with equally trembling hands._

_“N-no…” he choked out with a pathetic whimper. He wasn’t begging for his own life, but he couldn’t stand the thought of all those bodies...the bodies of his fiance and friends, set ablaze and burnt to ashes along with everything else._

_Another caress to his cheek, the slightly rough pad of a thumb trailing over his bruised cheekbone._

_“Shhh. That’s not fair, gorgeous,” He cooed, His tone that of a soft scolding, “don’t play with my soft, bleeding heart now. You’ve already tormented me enough.”_

_‘You got it all wrong’, he wanted to say. Their confrontation before the massacre had been too brief for him to explain himself properly, but even at that time he hadn’t felt the need to as the other had seemed calm and given the impression that He had come to accept the situation. Even when he’d thanked Him, with words and a kiss alike, He had been more than glad to accept it. In fact, He had responded to that kiss a little too eagerly, but he was willing to give Him that as it was the least he could do for everything He had done for him. He deserved the gratitude, the apology and a proper goodbye. Or so he'd thought at the time._

_‘I never meant to hurt you. It was never meant as betrayal.’_

_But the words wouldn't come out no matter how hard he tried to utter them. All that he managed was unintelligible gibberish with coughs and ragged breaths in between._

_“Stop it,” The man said, this time more firmly, and took hold of his chin, “I can’t stand it.”_

_The effort that had come with his attempt at speaking up caused another surge of exhaustion and nausea; his eyes rolled back into his head and his chest began to heave more violently with the string of ragged breaths that followed._

_“Poor thing. I’ll put you out of your misery now, sweetheart.”_

_The man leaned down and planted one last, gentle kiss to his bloody lips before rising to His full height. He cocked the safety of His gun and aimed it at him. More specifically, at his head._

_“Doffy…” he bit out in hope of at least utter his last living words and this time did somewhat succeed with forming them properly, “I n-never meant...I-I’ve always loved yo-”_

_BANG_


	2. Interlude

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is, as the title suggest, an interlude between the Prologue and Chapter 1. You could call it a prologue part 2 I suppose! 
> 
> NOTE! For this story I decided to portray Law's Kikoku as a normal-sized katana and not the Japanese broadsword model as the One Piece Wiki suggests. Just keep that in mind. And I will be putting a * after terms or concepts and explain it the bottom notes. This fic takes place in an alternate universe that has nothing to do with the One Piece world or Canon, but I am using terms and locations from it and alter them to suit the fic. Hence, Wano is an eastern/asian inspired place in this fic.

_ BANG _

He woke with a start. A dramatic one at that; just like the ones of his past when other traumatic events plagued his dreams. And just like the ones in those movies he, in his later years after recovering from said trauma, had been prone to mock. 

Bolting up into a sitting position on his bed with a loud gasp, wide-eyed, panting and coated with sweat and holding onto the sheets so hard his knuckles turn white. This was the manner in which Trafalgar Law woke up from his nightmare in the middle of the night. 

His chest heaved with the raspy, uncontrolled breaths that came spilling out of his mouth and in his brief moment of panic he scanned his surroundings in search for the hostile faces that were still flashing before his vision. When he found none of them, the reality slowly but surely dawning on him, he recognized the room as the one he’d been staying in for the past month and he allowed himself to relax. 

Shoulders slumping and eyes closing, he brought one of his hands up to his head and touched the scarred crater at the right side of his forehead. The moment his fingers made contact with it, he thought himself hearing that loud, traumatic sound of a gunshot again and instinctively flinched. 

Breathing out a long sigh he lowered his hand and dragged it down his face. 

“Fuck. Again…”

The same dream -or memory, rather- that had haunted him ever since he woke up from his half year long coma about a month ago. 

Every night it was the same, a replay of the event from start to finish and he wondered if he would ever get free from it, even after he’d exterminated its cause. 

_ ‘It better fucking go away,’  _ he thought bitterly to himself. He hadn’t had a proper sleep for a month; not since he woke up from that hellish state of nothingness. And while he had started to get used to it -accepted it, even- that didn’t mean it wasn’t frustrating. A further evidence of his predicament were the dark circles that had long since settled under his eyes and seemed intent on a permanent stay. 

Law glanced at the small alarm clock next to his head and made the calculation in his head.

_ 3:12 AM. _

He’d slept for a little over three hours this time, which was longer than most nights so he supposed he should be grateful. 

With another sigh, Law picked up the black kimono lying in a crumpled heap on the side of his futon and dressed himself. He knew there was no point in trying to get back to sleep now and decided to go outside for some much needed air. 

After a few serious attempts at tying the yellow sash properly around his waist and failing -nearly a whole month in Wano and he still hadn’t gotten the hang of it- he went downstairs with the intention of taking a stroll in the small stone garden surrounding the even smaller establishment. 

Upon rounding the corner to the living room, however, he found the sliding door to the backyard already open and spotted the familiar silhouette of Kin’emon sitting cross legged on the porch. 

“Another nightmare?” Kin’emon asked with his back turned to him and took a sip of his steaming mug of tea.

“You heard?” Law asked tiredly, knowing perfectly well the answer to that as it wouldn’t be the first time Kin’emon and his companions had heard him make noise during his nightmare-induced slumbers, and made himself seated next to him on the wooden floor. 

He hadn’t told Kin’emon what the nightmare was about, only that it was the same each time, but figured the man had a pretty good idea. After all, Doflamingo was the reason why Law had sought the ex swordsmith out in the first place and more importantly, the reason why Kin’emon had agreed to help him despite his retirement.

Kin’emon shrugged. 

“It’s a small building and the walls are thin.”

“Sorry. Did I disturb you?”

“No, I’ve been sitting here for a while.”

When Law sent Kin’emon a sideways glance, he took note of his rather rough-looking appearance. 

He was still wearing his working clothes from earlier, though the top part of which was undone and off his shoulders which left the entirety of his torso exposed. Law didn’t have to look closely to notice the tell-tale signs of swordsmithing on the man; his skin was damp and shimmering with sweat that had yet to dry and there was soot everywhere on his chest and face. His hands were red and blistered and the topknot of his hair was coming loose, long strands of hair falling one by one to settle with the rest. 

Despite knowing the answer to the question rolling on his tongue, he decided to ask it anyway. If anything, to have it contradicted. And when he uttered the words his voice was laced with a faint tone of accusation.

“Did you just come from the forge?” 

Kin’emon nodded. 

“Kanjuro assisted me earlier but I told him to go to bed about two hours ago.”

“Don’t overexert yourself!” Law scolded and grit his teeth when he caught sight of a particularly visible blister on Kin'emon’s forearm. That one looked like it hurt and was likely to remain for a while. As much as he wanted his katana to be finished as soon as possible, he didn’t wish for Kin’emon to hurt himself in the process.

“You’ve been working on it all day, barely taken any breaks and you didn’t eat anything for dinner.”

“I promised I’d finish it in three weeks time.”

Law opened his mouth to protest again but before he could, Kin’emon beat him to it and upon hearing the smith’s next words, Law stilled. 

“And I  _ did  _ finish it.”

At first Law thought he may have misheard him, but soon realised that that was not the case. Today marked the third week of his stay and for the past few days Kin’emon and Kanjurou had worked harder than ever. And he knew the two of them well enough by now to know that they would keep whatever promise made whenever their craftsmanship was concerned. 

The surprise on his face faded with this thought in mind.

“You did, huh.”

“Yes. Well, it will need a few hours to cool and there are some minor details to apply, but I will be ready to show it to you tomorrow.” Kin’emon glanced back at the clock hanging on the wall in the living room behind them, “or later today I suppose. So you’ll have to wait just a little longer.”

Law nodded, a hint of a smile now on his lips as he wasn’t quite able to suppress his excitement. 

“I’m looking forward to it.”

Kin’emon finished the rest of his tea, stood up and stretched his arms high above his head. His bones made several audible pops with the movement and he hummed pleasantly before a wide yawn parted his lips. 

“Well then, I shall go and get some rest.”

“Yeah. Sleep well.”

On his way inside, Kin’emon stopped by the door and glanced at Law over one of his shoulders. Despite their lighthearted conversation he could tell that the young man was still shaken from his unpleasant awakening and observed his stiff shoulders and back with a look of mild concern. Though he chose not to comment on that as he knew the concern would not be appreciated and be mistaken for pity. 

“How about you? Not going back to sleep?” He simply asked instead.

Without turning around, Law shook his head. It was the only reply he was willing to give and thankfully Kin’emon didn’t persist the matter any further. 

“Make sure you close the door when you go back inside.”

“Yeah.”

Law was then left to himself and soon he found himself, as he usually did after waking up, thinking back to his nightmare. Or a specific part of it, rather. The one that hurt him the most. 

_ ‘I promise, gorgeous.’ _

His hands that rested in his lap balled into tight, shaking fists and with his narrowed eyes he stared ahead while muttering something under his breath. 

  
“Liar.”

_ ‘I promise.’ _

“You fucking  _ liar _ .”

* * *

In the afternoon later that day Kin’emon was ready to present his latest creation to his guest. The exchange was held in the forge building and carried out in the traditional Wano way that, to Law, had a very ceremonial feel to it. 

He was kneeling on a pillow on the floor, sitting opposite Kin’emon and Kanjuro who sat on identical pillows next to each other. Incense had been lit and now perfumed the air with its white and purple smoke and there were candles burning on a low table between the two parties. They were all wearing white kimonos and beads of jade around their necks, as the old custom dictated.* 

The sheathed katana laid across Kin’emon’s lap and when he picked it up, one hand taking hold of each end, the grip was so gentle one might think he was holding something fragile that could break at the slightest pressure.

With slow and calculated movements he bent forward and held the sword out to its intended owner, bowing his head half way in a gesture of offering. 

Law returned the bow and with the same gentleness took it into his own hands and first took his time appreciating the beautiful scabbard that he knew was crafted by Kanjuro. 

Made out of blackened, polished wood and engraved with crosses carved from white jade, it was just a fine work of art as he knew the sword itself would be. And when he expressed that thought out loud, Kanjurou seemed very pleased with himself. Even a little embarrassed as if he wasn’t used to such praise. 

Law ran his fingers over the smooth surface with a faint smile and after examining it for another minute he finally grabbed the handle of the katana itself and slowly pulled it out of its confines. It made a faint, ringing sound when it became exposed little by little; a pleasant, yet foreboding sound that indicated just how sharp the blade was. 

_ ‘Is this what they mean by the singing of a sword?’  _ Law thought to himself. 

Once it was fully unsheathed, he gently put the scabbard down to have a long good look at the katana from top to bottom; from the handle bound in violet and black wrappings to the fur-trimmed handguard and the long, glimmering blade. He didn’t know if it may have been the light or a trait common to Wano steel, but the surface seemed to gleam with a near purple light at the slightest tilt. 

While a skilled swordsman, Law was by no means an expert when it came to the detailed craftsmanship and process behind the creation of a sword. But even he could tell that this was truly a blade of the best possible quality. A fine work of art and better than he could ever have hoped for.

Not that he had expected anything less from the renowned Kin’emon, but to see one of the man’s own creations up close was something else entirely. 

“It’s magnificent,” Law said in full honesty and awe as he inspected the katana closer.

Kin'emon scoffed and turned his head to the side in a poor attempt at concealing how much the praise affected him. 

“Of course it is. All my swords  _ are _ .”

When he glanced at Law through the corner of his eyes he was surprised to see the young man smiling. It wasn’t one of those cocky, insolent smirks Law liked to sport every now and then, but a true smile that held no trace of arrogance or mischief. A rare sight to behold and even more so was the bow that Law then suddenly offered to him and Kanjurou. On his knees in front of them, back bent forward and his head lowered until his forehead touched the floor. A true gesture of respect and gratitude of the Wano way. 

“Thank you, Kin’emon-san, Kanjurou-san. I am truly grateful for everything.”

It took Kin’emon by such surprise that he began sputtering and in order to hide the flush of embarrassment that began to settle on his cheeks, he kept his head firmly turned to the right. 

Kanjurou remained still and quiet next to him, but anyone could tell he was just as touched by the gesture. 

“G-get up! Your form is atrocious, just like the way you wear your kimono and hold your chopsticks. Look at your sash! Hmph...I wonder if you will really be able to wield that katana at all if you can’t even manage such simple things.”

Law lifted his head the slightest bit and looked up at him from beneath his bangs.

“Your ramen is worse.”

Ah there it was. The sass of the brat that one month ago had appeared at the doorstep of his small ramen shop with such an outrageous request.

Due to Law’s head still being mostly tilted down, Kin’emon couldn’t spot the smirk but knew fully well it was there right now. 

“Shut up. One day my ramen will be just as good as my swords. Then we’ll see if you have the gall to say that again.”

Law rose his head and straightened himself back into his former position. His smirk widened with a teasing, knowing curve. 

“Oh? Are you inviting me to come back?”

Kanjurou nodded enthusiastically and opened his mouth to express his wish to see him again, but got cut off by Kin’emon who was a tad quicker with his words. 

“Tch. Just for the ramen. And for Momonosuke and Kanjurou’s sake. I don’t know why, but they somehow have taken a liking to you.”

Law let out a small chuckle. 

“Of course.”

Kin’emon’s demeanor then became serious and with a meaningful look he asked, “How does it feel? Will you be able to wield it properly?”

“It’s perfect,” Law replied as he tested the weight of the sword in his hands, “I will be able to handle it just fine.”

After all, he hadn’t spent the past three past weeks doing nothing while Kin’emon and Kanjurou worked on the sword. He’d practiced and gotten his body back into shape; after being immobile in his coma for so long it had taken some time for his muscles to start functioning properly but once he began training again, his body had been quick to remember through instinct and muscle memory. 

Kin’emon gave Law some more time to inspect his gifts for a while, studying his expression and the care he seemed to hold for the sword itself. He did, however, notice the underlying bloodlust beneath that calm and somber front the young man liked to put up. While Kin’emon didn’t know the particular details of what Law had gone through, he knew first hand what Doflamingo was capable of and therefore wasn’t the least surprised about Law’s desire to slay him. And that desire was currently so visible and thick on him that Kin’emon could almost taste it on the air. 

He just hoped its intensity wouldn’t prevent Law from keeping a clear head when the time came. 

“It needs a name,” he said after a while, deciding not to share his concerns, and crossed his arms over his chest. 

Law caressed the blade with the tips of his fingers and nodded. 

“Yeah. I’ve already decided on one.”

He put the katana into its scabbard in one long, smooth move and the perfect fit made him smile with much satisfaction. He sent a sideways glance at Kin’emon and with a meaningful look gave his reply. 

“Kikoku.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * This ceremony between Kin'emon, Kanjuro and Law are purely made up by me. It's inspired by the scene in the movie Kill Bill Vol 1 when Beatrix receives her katana, but that's it. it has nothing to do with real life Japanese tradition or Oda's idea for Wano tradition!
> 
> ALSO! Law recovered quickly from his six month coma. Idk how long it would take for a normal person but this fic is not meant to be realistic.


	3. Trebol

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The official first chapter. I guess I should put up a warning for violence and depiction of death! And Trebol being gross and ungraceful as always.
> 
> NOTE: This fic is not meant to be realistic or true to One Piece canon so please don't get too hooked on the details (or lack thereof) As a skilled, ex assassin, I would like to think that Law is more than capable of getting through security systems and break into places etc. Yes? Groovy! 
> 
> Hope everyone stays safe, healthy and sane in these difficult times! <3

_ The silence that followed when Trebol and Diamante finally lowered their rifles was even more terrifying than the loud screams of the hysterical crowd had been. An abrupt and heavy silence that was such a stark contrast to the blood-chilling noise that just seconds ago had echoed between the stone walls and high ceiling of the church. A silence of finality indicating something irretrievable. _

_ No one had been fortunate -or  _ **_unfortunate_ ** _ \- enough to survive the massacre and break the quiet with any kind of sound either. No one except Law, of course, just as instructed. Yet, it was with much dread that Law listened for it anyway. A groan, sobbing, the faint rustling of clothes or the sound of a body moving.  _

_ Listened with ‘dread’, because anyone who so much as twitched would be shot even if it was just a spasming muscle a little late to react while the person in question in fact  _ **_was_ ** _ dead.  _

_ If by some miracle someone had survived though, Law prayed they were sensible enough to pretend otherwise.  _

_ It was Trebol who was the first to speak up and as awful and heartbreaking as this ominous silence was, Law didn’t know whether or not he preferred it over that man’s voice that he found just as repulsive, if not more. _

_ “Heeey, they’re all dead now right?” He drawled and scanned the piles of dead bodies on his side. Diamante did the same on the other side and gave an arrogant shrug of his shoulders when he confirmed his colleague’s inquiry.  _

_ “Seems like it.” _

_ Trebol laughed and began walking down the aisle, towards the altar Doflamingo had chosen for his seat and Law who was kneeling on the floor with Vergo keeping him restrained from behind.  _

_ Once close enough to see the damage done to Law so far, Trebol didn’t waste time to gloat.  _

_ “Heey, you’re bleeding a lot, Law! It looks good on you, behehe!” _

_ He turned his head to the right where Law’s fiance lay dead in a pool of blood on the floor a short distance away.  _

_ “Or is it that guy’s blood on you? He sure is bleeding a lot.” _

_ He came to a halt just a few inches away from Law and leaned down close enough for the latter to feel the stench of his breath. The angle made his shades slide down his nose enough for his eyes to become visible and despite his current condition, Law was able to grit his teeth and give Trebol a defiant glare. Though most of its intensity was lost due to the tears prickling in the corners of his eyes and the sight of them only fueled Trebol’s pettiness. _

_ “Hey, heeey, are you crying?”  _

_ When one tear spilled over -against Law’s will and beyond his control- and rolled down his cheek Trebol laughed again, his grin even wider than before.  _

_ “Behehe! You  _ **_are_ ** _! How cute! Oh it’s making my snot drip!” _

_ “Oi, Trebol,” Doflamingo said from his seat, sounding mildly annoyed but didn’t bother to move, “you’re too close. Back up and give him some space.” _

_ Too close, indeed. But as unpleasant as the proximity was, it gave Law the opportunity to get some revenge for the taunts. Not much, but he’d take whatever he could get. If he was going to die anyway, he may as well keep some of his dignity. So when Trebol did back off, it was not due to his obedience to the boss’ command, but because Law chose to spit out a big glob of blood in his face. Law would have opted for a headbutt, but Vergo’s staff pressed under his chin was keeping his head locked in its current position which left little room for movement.  _

_ “Uwaah!” Trebol exclaimed, startled and disgusted, and quickly took a step back. He clumsily fished out a handkerchief from the inner pocket of his coat and wiped the blood away. When his face was clean he glared at Law’s smirking face and in a surge of anger delivered a hard backhanded slap across his cheek. Law’s head snapped to the side and more blood pooled out from his mouth.  _

_ “You brat! That’s gross!” _

_ “Don’t forget your orders, Trebol,” Vergo sternly reminded him and pressed his staff harder against Law’s throat as punishment for his defiant act, “don’t mess up his face.” _

_ Trebol grit his teeth and clicked his tongue to further prove his irritation. He studied Law’s face and his expression of disgust slowly morphed into one of twisted, giddy excitement.  _

_ He walked over to Doflamingo, eager to share his new idea.  _

_ “Hey, Doffy, can I blow the place up when we’re done? I brought bombs! Hey, heeyyy? Let’s burn it down!” _

* * *

After his month-long stay in Wano, Law was ready. Now that his trip had served its purpose and given him everything he needed, there was nothing more for him to do than get on with his vendetta against Doflamingo and his inner circle of goons. 

And the first target on Law’s list was Trebol; a big slimeball of a man who was the weakest of Doflamingo’s three executives. Weakest, oldest and certainly the least intelligent. Cowardly too, as he preferred to stay back and have others do the hard work for him. And in those few times he actually  _ did  _ choose to finish his targets off by himself, it was by blowing them up with bombs, grenades and landmines or the occasional long range firearms with high destructive force. And all done from a safe distance where he could watch and gloat as much as he pleased. Just like he’d done when shooting Law’s friends down with his rifle. 

He was, in Law’s opinion, the very definition of a scumbag. He was doing the world a favor by killing him off first. A quick and ungraceful death was exactly what the bastard deserved...though maybe not too quick. Law was expecting to get some satisfaction out of his killing spree, after all. 

He briefly took his eyes off the road to glance at Kikoku with an apologetic look.

“Sorry, you’ll have to wait a little longer. That piece of shit doesn’t deserve you.”

He wouldn’t sully Kikoku’s blade with Trebol’s vile blood. It would have to wait until it was time to face off against the others; as much as Law hated them they at least held some of his respect as a fellow killer and fighter. Trebol, however, did not.

“I’ll treat you to a real feast later, I promise.”

A few hours later Law drove his rented car up to the parking lot of Spider Miles; a three-star casino where Trebol liked to spend his Friday evenings. The wedding massacre had been his last mission before going into an early retirement and now lived a lazy, self-indulgent life with few -if any- obligations to anyone else but himself. He still kept in touch with Doflamingo and met him on occasion, but he no longer belonged to the Family as an assassin. 

Law had made sure to investigate all of his targets’ current situations in life before taking any action against them and in Trebol’s case, he’d been fortunate to have come across a very advantageous source; a woman named Viola who hated the man almost as much as Law did. Until recently she’d once been a popular high class escort from Dressrosa, a country said to be a place of passion and well known for its fine wines and beautiful women. 

Trebol had quickly taken a liking to her and became one of her regular clients. Though with time things escalated and took a turn for the worse as Trebol developed an unhealthy obsession with her. He became possessive and while under the impression that he was entitled to her, demanded that she become his exclusively. A hefty sum of money was offered, along with promises of protection and anything materialistic she could ever want. Law wasn’t at all surprised that Viola had refused him and had even managed a small chuckle when she in all seriousness and with a blank face had said that nothing would ever compel her to belong to such a ‘ _repulsive_ _creature_ ’. A fitting description of the man, indeed. 

Though the events that had followed her refusal weren’t as amusing and it was with a certain amount of sympathy that Law had listened to Viola as she, despite her obvious discomfort and shame, told him of Trebol’s abuse. Not only had he assaulted her in all ways possible but afterwards he’d gone after her father, an old and sickly man, and left him hospitalized for several months.

Needless to say, Viola had been more than willing to give Law the information he wanted with the sole condition that he sent her a picture of Trebol’s corpse after he was done with him. A fair deal, to be sure, and the information she had was advantageous to say the least. 

She knew everything about Trebol’s Friday evening routine at Spider Miles. Which room he would be in and at what exact time, what company he kept with him, what he usually had to drink, what versions of poker he liked to play, the fact that he preferred to have the dealers switched between each game and some other details about the casino itself and the staff working there. The dealer switch was one of the more valuable pieces of information though, as it spared Law a lot of trouble getting into Trebol’s VIP room. The only piece of information he would have to find on his own was the specific dealers that would be tending Trebol that evening, which wasn’t too difficult a task for an ex assassin of Law’s calibre.

He’d chosen the dealer of the third switch; a man of similar age and physique as himself. Law was taking the guy’s place tonight, donning his dealer uniform and employer key card he’d borrowed after knocking him out with a tranquilizer at his apartment. 

After parking his car, Law put Kikoku in the duffel bag he’d brought with him and slung it over one of his shoulders. He couldn’t very well just waltz in with a katana strapped to his back, now could he? 

He entered through the ‘Employee Only’ door at the back of the building with a swipe of the card and once he was inside nobody paid him any mind as they fully believed him to be a part of the staff just clocking in for his shift. 

He moved through the crowd and made his way to the VIP area that was situated in a long hallway on the third floor. There was a good distance between each room, the ornate doors thick and far between from one another in order for the patrons to get the privacy they paid good money for. Law was grateful for this, as it would make his assassination less noticable. 

While Law waited outside Trebol’s room he made sure to check the silencer on his gun to make sure it was on properly, and for good measure adjusted the knife he’d brought with him in its holster. 

_ ‘All set.’ _

He waited for the third switch to come around and soon enough the alarm of his digital wristwatch went off. Straightening from the wall, he took a deep breath before quietly entering the room. 

Unsurprisingly, the first thing that caught Law’s eyes when he came inside the room was Trebol himself. 

He hadn’t thought it possible but the man had grown even bigger and more... _ robust _ . No doubt a result of his new lifestyle, but he still wore similar sunglasses and clothes that Law was used to seeing on him. 

There were two men with him, one on each side of the table and they certainly had the looks of people who Trebol would prefer to keep for company. And that, in Law’s mind, wasn’t something to be proud of as it was more of an insult rather than a compliment from his side. 

One of them looked like he’d stepped straight out of a steampunk movie. Tall, slender and grey-bluish hair styled into some kind of mad professor getup. He was wearing a black and yellow striped coat accented with odd little golden cog pins here and there, black gloves, a black face mask and a pair of round goggles. 

The other was big and sturdy, an obvious beer belly peeking out from the hem of his red vest, and on top of his long, blonde haired-head he wore a red cap. He donned a bushy beard that matched his hair in color and just like his two companions, he too wore some sort of eyewear. A pair of black sunglasses.

All in all they made for quite a ridiculous-looking trio. 

There was a woman there, too. Law could tell she was an escort, perhaps Trebol’s new favorite, and was currently draping herself around her customer’s shoulders with a sultry smile. It wasn’t a pleasant sight. In fact, it made Law feel a little sick. She was obviously not as high class as Viola had been. 

But that was not important now. 

Gently he set his duffle bag down and approached the table. 

“Dealer change,” he said and held his hand out for the deck. The other dealer, fully believing him to be one of his colleagues, nodded and handed him the deck before leaving the room. Law began to shuffle the cards with the ease and confidence of a professional while keeping his vengeful eyes on Trebol. The man hadn’t thought much of his entrance and fortunately not registered the familiarity of his voice; at the moment he was more interested in slurping down his drink and the woman giggling into his ear. 

It wasn’t until he handed out the cards that Trebol began to pay attention, no doubt recognizing Law’s tattooed knuckles even though it took him a few extra seconds to process. With his bushy brows furrowed, Trebol slowly lifted his head to confirm his suspicion and met Law’s intense stare head on. 

“L-Law!” He gasped, shell-shocked, but didn’t move. Or  _ couldn’t,  _ rather, and for a moment found himself unable to do anything else but gape and stare at him. 

Despite Doflamingo’s warning, he hadn’t expected Law to show up like this, at the casino all by himself. And definitely not so soon. 

_ “Don’t let your guard down, Trebol. He’s saving me for last so it’s either you or one of the other two that will be his first target. But more importantly, don’t underestimate him,”  _ Doflamingo had told him over the phone a few days prior.  __

At the time Trebol hadn’t been too bothered about it but now he realized the mistake in that. 

_ ‘Why did he have to pick me first!? And today of all days?’ _

How had Law even known how to find him?

It wasn’t until Law’s lips tilted upwards into a small smirk that Trebol broke free from his trance. Unfortunately he was a little too slow to react and just as he called out to his comrades to get their guns out, they each received a bullet to the head and wordlessly fell off their chairs. Their bodies hit the floor at the same time; two dull thuds followed by a loud scream of horror from the girl who threw herself to the floor for cover.

Trebol moved to reach into his inner pocket to draw his own pistol out, but all the alcohol he had consumed up until now made him clumsy and sluggish, which Law had no qualms taking advantage of. In fact, before Trebol could even reach his coat Law hopped up on the table and drew out his hunting knife which he stabbed into the other’s hand that had only lifted a few centimetres.

“Waahh!” Trebol wailed and stared fearfully at his bleeding hand that had just now been nailed to the green-carpeted table. 

“You’ve become slower,” Law said and twisted the knife half a circle while still embedded in the thick flesh. Another loud scream followed, along with a generous amount of snot dripping from Trebol’s nose and Law didn’t find it nearly as repulsive as he usually did. In fact, in this very moment it filled him with a giddy, sadistic sort of glee. 

While said glee certainly showed on his face, Law kept his voice neutral and cold. It was such a stark and disturbing contrast that it shook Trebol’s spine with an involuntary shiver. And as Law lowered his face further, now on his level, Trebol once again found himself unable to look away from those eerily yellow eyes. The last time he’d had such a close look at them they’d been spilling tears but in this moment they had a near manic gleam to them. 

Under different circumstances in which he wasn’t fearing for his life, he would have admired their beauty just as much as Doflamingo always had. The eyes of a true, natural born killer. 

“Not that you were ever quick to begin with,” Law then added and leaned back from Trebol’s stinky breath. It was just as repulsive as he remembered.

He heard a faint shuffling sound from the side and glanced down at the woman who had begun to crawl her way towards the door. Her legs were trembling too violently for her to be able to stand up and had to make do with dragging her weight across the floor. 

With his free hand Law shot a bullet past her, aiming for the floor tile about half a meter in front of her head, and with a fearful squeak she froze right on the spot. 

“Don’t move.” 

She sent a tearful and pleading look at him over her shoulder. 

“Please! I have nothing to do with him! I’m just hired for the night!”

“Shut up. I don’t give a damn about you; just lay still there and be quiet and I won't have to kill you. Understood?”

“Y-yes!”

During this short confrontation, Trebol had gathered some of his breathing under control and thought that he would be able to use the distraction to gain the upper hand. Law was sitting rather close to him, after all, and currently not looking at him. He clenched his free hand into a big fist under the table where it was hidden from view and then with a mean smile threw the intended punch towards Law’s face. 

_ ‘Take this you filthy brat!’  _

Law caught the fist with ease after letting go of the knife. It came to an abrupt stop a few centimetres away from his face when he took hold of it and it was with an unimpressed look that he, in one quick move, twisted it and successfully broke Trebol’s wrist.

“I’m offended,” Law said with an exasperated sigh and let go. Trebol’s hand fell to the table, broken and useless. 

“I knew you weren’t going to be much of a challenge but this is just pathetic. No doubt did Doflamingo warn you about me...yet you chose to ignore it and indulge yourself in this shit hole. Either you’re eager to die or just plain cocky.”

His brows drew together into a dark frown. 

“You underestimated me. I couldn't fight back last time and was put in a coma for six months, so you didn’t see me as a threat.”

He thought back to the day of the massacre; to Trebol’s taunts and backhanded blow to his face. And how he’d been granted a few extra punches after Vergo and Diamante had finished with him. 

That ugly laugh when he punched him anywhere but his face.

“You enjoyed that, didn’t you? Smacking me around and burning all those bodies.”

Law put his gun down and leaned a little closer to his target. 

“And you enjoyed shooting all those people. My friends were sitting on the side you took care of, by the way.”

Law reached out for the knife still buried in Trebol’s hand. Without any warning he pulled it out and watched with a wicked grin as blood erupted from the deep wound in several thick streams. 

Trebol screamed again and clutched the wound with his other -broken- hand in a desperate attempt to stop the pouring flow. A useless effort, of course, and one that Law had no intention of prolonging. He slashed Trebol’s throat with the knife but not deep enough to kill him right away. And before Trebol even had time to react, Law planted his hands on the table, spun himself around and sent Trebol flying off his chair with a strong kick to his face, breaking that ugly nose, the sunglasses and a knocking a few teeth out. 

“Owaahh!” Trebol’s loud grunt was just as ungraceful as his landing and there was a distinct crack when his heavy body hit the hard floor of colorful ceramic tiles. He began rolling around on his back while making gurgling noises as the blood continued to flow and choking him.

“You won’t die just yet. I made sure to cut you in a way that you’ll stay alive for a few more minutes,” Law muttered absently while wiping off the knife against the table. Once it was relatively clean he put it away and reached into the inner pocket of his vest from which he took out a smartphone. 

“You remember Viola, don’t you? Or Violet, I believe she liked to call herself during work.”

“Ughhh!”

Law snapped a photo of Trebol before adding, “she sends her regards.” 

After he’d taken a few more pictures to choose from later, he noticed something gleaming on the edge of the table. An object that lay next to the ashtray meant for Trebol’s cigars. He recognized it immediately yet still made a show of picking it up for a closer inspection. 

“You still carry this ugly thing with you,” he said while twirling the object between his fingers; a lighter made of gilded metal. It was shaped like a clover at the top and each leaf was decorated with a small red stone. Law had seen it been used to light cigars and cigarettes many times in the past. If anything, he suspected it to be Trebol’s most prized possession with the way he always flaunted it. There wasn’t even a single scratch on it which indicated that it was being well cared for. 

A wicked smile slowly curved his lips upwards when that last thought gave him an idea. He hopped off the table and picked up the big bottle of whiskey Trebol had ordered in before. His grin widened as he stalked towards the man in question, gaining much satisfaction from the pathetic sight of him rolling around on his back and  _ still  _ trying to stop the blood gushing out from his throat. 

“Here, have some,” Law turned the bottle upside down, pouring all its contents on the writhing Trebol below. 

Unsurprisingly, being soaked in whiskey wasn’t really Trebol’s main concern at the moment and it went mostly unnoticed...that is, until he looked up and watched as Law lit the lighter. 

  
“Oh I see that got your attention. You really do like this lighter, don’t you?”

Trebol tried to say something, probably an attempt at begging for his life, but Law was done here. With no remorse or sympathy whatsoever he threw the lighter down and watched through narrowed eyes as Trebol’s body caught fire. 

Fortunately, the screams that he undoubtedly was making -or trying to make- were muted due to the gash in his throat and the gurgling noises weren’t loud enough to pass through the walls for anyone else to hear. But in a way this was also, in Law’s mind,  _ un _ fortunate as he would have loved to watch him suffer a little longer and listen to his screams.

Soon enough the loss of blood took its toll on Trebol and his body went limp while still engulfed by flames. 

The woman on the floor had passed out from shock, poor thing, and Law made sure to carry her out of the room when he left. 

“Trust me, you’re better off without him,” he muttered under his breath and gently put her down against a wall at a safe distance further down the hall. 

With his mission now accomplished, Law slung his bag over his shoulder and took his leave without looking back. 

First target: Eliminated.


	4. Diamante

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Violence, Gore and Decapitation! Not explicitly described though! 
> 
> \- The last and this chapter are kinda fast paced but let's be honest, who cares about Trebol and Diamante, really? They deserve to die and that's it. 
> 
> \- Thank you to those who have commented, given kudos, bookmarked or just taken the time to read this fic! As long as you enjoy it, whether in secret or not, is enough for me! The support is appreciated <3 
> 
> \- Law is totally flexing in this chapter.

_When Vergo delivered his final blow, seemingly satisfied, it was Diamante’s turn to inflict some punishment on the traitorous brat. Not too much though, as a lot of damage had already been done and Doflamingo wanted Law somewhat conscious and pretty before taking care of him himself._

_Diamante had watched with a never-faltering grin, amused by the fact that despite his wrecked condition, Law had still tried to fight back the first few times he was beat down. And he’d laughed out loud when he spat blood in Trebol’s face. Say what you will about him, but the kid had spunk. Of course, all attempts of resistance ended up in pathetic failure._

_Something less amusing that Diamante had come to notice was the fact that not once since the massacre started had Doflamingo smiled. The man was known for his bloodthirst and somewhat sadistic tendencies, but ever since Law and his fiance began walking down that aisle he had been observing the whole thing with that same neutral frown he currently wore while seated on the altar._

_Even now with all of those people dead, the man who’d stolen Law’s heart shot down, and Law himself receiving the rough treatment he so, in their opinion at least, deserved, there was no trace of satisfaction on him. As one of Doflamingo’s closest friends and having known him for so long, it was a frustrating and unpleasant sight to behold. This brat had really fucked Doflamingo up._

_And it was with that thought in mind that Diamante approached Law who was lying on his back on the hard marble floor, panting and trembling. He glanced down at him with an unimpressed look, the sight of him inspiring no sympathy or remorse._

_“You brought this on yourself, you know,” he said and slowly lifted his foot, making his intentions clear by lowering his gaze to the wound in Law’s thigh and grinned when realization widened the latter’s eyes._

_He prolonged the blow by keeping his foot still in midair a few seconds more and added, “It’s what you get for going against Doffy,” before stomping down on the bullet still embedded in Law’s thigh._

_Law tried to hold it in, gritting his teeth so hard it could be heard by the others but eventually the pain became too much and he cried out. A loud and tormented cry that was most uncommon for anyone who knew Law to hear from him._

_“That’s a nice scream you got you,” Diamante taunted and just for good measure ground the sharp heel of his boot against the wound._

_“Doffy isn’t the only one who’s hurt though. You were a part of the Family for so long yet you abandoned us and made us worry. I had just started to like you, too! Weren’t we good enough for you, huh? Makes me feel unwanted.”_

_He hummed when Law screamed again and then slowly removed his foot only to deliver a hard kick to Law's ribs, one to his gut and another to his back._

_“You ungrateful little shit.”_

_And with that he considered himself done and took a few steps back to watch Trebol get a few additional punches in._

* * *

Law had promised Kikoku a feast; an official christening in which it got its first real taste of enemy blood. And he’d figured that the best opportunity for that was against Diamante and some of his underlings as they were all accomplished fighters and would prove to be more of a challenge than Trebol had been. 

Diamante was skilled with bladed weapons, swords in particular, and he was just a little tad less repulsive and cowardly than Trebol. In the past, Law would have preferred his company any day if he had to choose between the two. But that’s about where his redeeming qualities ended and Law wasn’t willing to give his personality any more praise than that. His fighting skills aside, Diamante was not really a pleasant person to be around. Whatever traits of Trebol he lacked, he made up for with arrogance and the tendency to use dirty tricks to get his way. He liked to talk a lot during fights too and would often provoke his opponents with taunts in order to sway them into recklessness that would get them killed. 

While Diamante was still officially part of the Family and worked directly under Doflamingo, he did have a business of his own on the side. An illegal fighting ring that he’d named Corrida Arena which he managed whenever he wasn’t busy assassinating people for the boss. It served both as a place of entertainment for the rich, wicked people of the underworld and a means of recruiting promising fighters to Doflamingo’s collection of trained killers. 

Before Law went after the second executive directly, he had strategically taken Kikoku for a test drive at the Corrida Arena one night when Diamante was absent and the place closed to the public as its fighters were scheduled to use the ring for training. Law wanted a private one-on-one duel with the fellow swordsman and for that needed to send him a proper invitation. 

Upon his arrival Law hadn’t wasted any time and, with the confidence of someone who knows they’ve already won, entered the arena pit and openly challenged Diamante’s 10 leading fighters to a 10 vs 1 battle. 

They knew of him, of course, as their boss had informed them of the situation and warned that he may show up in the near future. So when he showed up with his declaration of war, they’d recognized him instantly and not hesitated to accept. What they hadn’t counted on, however, was Law appearing when Diamante was away. A fact they had seen numerous possibilities in. 

_“You really think you can take us all on by yourself, punk?”_

_“What an idiot!”_

_“No, he’s fucking_ **_suicidal_ ** _!”_

_“Well, if he wants to die that badly I'm more than happy to give it to him. If we kill him off for the boss we’ll get promoted for sure!”_

Fighting the ten of them all at once had been somewhat challenging, but nothing Law couldn’t handle. They’d soon realized the mistake of their early mockery of him as he cut through them like a hurricane with Kikoku and some of his preferred martial arts. 

They’d gotten a few good hits in, though. Some aching cuts and bruises and a sore arm that would heal within a few days and none that would actually prevent him from continuing his killing spree. 

The blood of his opponents, however, was a different story. It had taken a while for him to rinse it all out of his hair and off his body completely; each time when he thought himself rid of it there were always a few spots to be found here and there that he’d missed and he’d have to go for another bath or two. 

Though merely defeating the ten of them had not been Law’s sole motive. When they were all lying dead on the floor he’d cut their hearts out and sent them to Diamante in a box along with an untraceable phone number and letter of challenge. 

The proper invitation he’d meant to send. 

A fight to the death using their swords, just the two of them in a location of Law’s choice. The letter stated that Diamante had 24 hours to call with his answer and should he decline the invitation, all bets were off and Law would go after him like he’d done with Trebol. No honor or respect, just filthy ungraceful carnage. 

13 hours later Diamante responded with his acceptance. 

* * *

The location Law had chosen for their fight was a big waste processing plant at the outskirts of the city. It had once been one of the Family’s bases of operation, where many of the new recruits were taken for training.

Once the Family began to make more money and gained a higher reputation, it was eventually abandoned altogether. The building had long since been demolished and there was no trace of it left to be seen. It did bring back some fond memories for Law, though, as it was the place he had spent his first few years of training as an official member of Doflamingo’s group.

The nostalgia was part of the reason behind his choice, but Law also knew that they wouldn’t get interrupted there and it was far away from the Corrida Arena and some of Diamante’s other establishments. Or any of the Family’s either, for that matter. 

Law had been first to arrive and waited patiently standing on a flat piece of land. There were heaps of scrap metal all around, along with steaming machines, old rusty vehicles, broken furniture and out of date electronic devices. Not the most pleasant place to be, but at least it provided privacy. 

Eventually, nearly an hour later, Law spotted Diamante in the distance as the man approached. It hadn’t been difficult to pinpoint him in the first place because not only was the man extremely tall, but his obnoxious choice of attire was as attention-grabbing as a traffic cone; bright red leather pants, a yellow dress shirt, high-heeled leather boots and a long cape of that same red as the pants with a ridiculous collar shaped like a flower. It certainly wasn’t something one with common sense would wear for a fight but in Diamante’s case, it was part of his usual dress code and he was skilled enough to surpass the disadvantages it brought. 

“Couldn’t you have chosen a classier place?” He asked disinterestedly once within earshot.

Law shrugged. 

“It has its own charms. Though it was mostly nostalgia that made me choose it; the two of us share some history here, don’t we?”

Diamante turned his head to the side and looked at the spot where their old base had been located some distance away. 

“Ah yes, that’s true.”

His mouth tilted up into a big grin and settled his attention back to Law. 

“It’s where we first met and had our first sparring session. Hah. You were such a crazy little runt back then. The day Doffy brought you in you looked ready to kill someone...”

He chuckled. 

  
“Probably why he took an interest in you. Before you grew such a fine ass, that is.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

That being said, any praise to his body made by the other man made his skin crawl.

The small talk then came to a sudden end and the corners of Diamante’s lips fell into a neutral line. His blue eyes narrowed and fixed Law with a hardened look.

“You took good care of my men.”

“Yeah. They proved to be quite the decent warm up. Though not enough to satisfy Kikoku.” To emphasize his point, Law tapped his sheathed sword against the shoulder it was resting against. 

“Your Kin’emon sword? Doffy did warn me about it.”

Diamante let his eyes rove over the black, polished scabbard in Law’s hand and scoffed.

“Of course you had to fuckin’ name it.”

“Every sword crafted by Kin’emon is given a name. It’s one of the conditions he sets before making one.”

Diamante merely shrugged. 

“So, I suppose I should feel flattered that you want to use it against me?”

“Oh yes. It’s the last one he’ll ever make. I thought it would be a shame not to use it against a fellow swordsman as skilled as yourself.”

Tilting his head back, Diamante let out a loud laugh and looked ever so pleased. His giant ego was easy to stroke. 

“Now I _definitely_ feel flattered! I never thought I’d hear such things from you of all people.”

He fiddled with the handle of his own sword that was hanging at his hip for a bit before slowly dragging it out from its scabbard. Unlike Law’s sword, Diamante’s was not of the katana model, but rather a rapier with a golden hand guard and long blade made of fine steel from Dressrosa. 

“Well then, I think it’s about time to get this on the way.”

Law matched the move by lowering Kikoku from his shoulder and unsheathed it as he held it out in front of himself. 

Now with both their swords drawn, they stared each other down for a moment and took matching stances ready to attack or defend.

Unsurprisingly, it wasn’t Law that made the first move as his opponent was more prone to impatience. 

“Here I come!” Diamante declared and launched himself forward with that same grin plastered on his face. Law raised Kikoku, successfully blocking the attack and followed it up with one of his own. He stabbed his sword out towards Diamante’s gut, but it was parried just as easily. 

Their blades clashed a few times as they swung at each other while moving across the small patch of even, uncluttered ground. They were evenly matched, neither of them overpowering the other or offering any openings to be taken advantage of. That being said, as Diamante was significantly taller, his sword was longer to accommodate his height and thus made it more difficult for Law to get close and was kept at a fair distance. 

“Not bad! You’ve gotten better than last time we sparred, “ Diamante exclaimed during a pause in which the two of them took the time to catch their breath, “Do you think it will be enough though? You’ve never beaten me once, after all.”

Law responded with a cocky quirk of his lips. 

“Ever thought I may have gone easy on you? You were so proud of your title as Doflamingo’s number one swordsman and at the time I wasn’t heartless enough to take that away from you.”

“Hah! Nice try acting all tough, kid!”

Law shrugged. To him it didn’t really matter whether or not Diamante believed him or not. The truth was what it was, and it stated that Law had surpassed him long ago. Or at least, he was superior in a fair fight...which, Diamante wasn’t exactly known for. 

And that tendency soon revealed itself. 

He pressed forward with three quick slashes, a distraction for Law to deal with while he unclasped his cape with his other hand. Grinning widely, Diamante threw it at him and the piece of fabric was big enough to obscure Law’s field of vision. 

Gritting his teeth, Law stepped back and swatted the thing away with Kikoku and once it was out of the picture Diamante was no longer in front of him, but came at him from the side. Law didn’t have time to block and so opted for an attempt at dodging it by twisting to the left. He narrowly escaped a cut to his side; Diamante’s blade had torn through his leather jacket and would have pierced his skin if he’d been a fraction of a second too late. 

The next blow that followed, however, did hit him. A swift kick to his chest sent him crashing into one of the tall piles of scrap metal. He grunted upon the impact of his back slamming into the hard surface that thankfully enough wasn’t anything sharp, and when he looked up Diamante was coming at him with a stab aimed for his face. Ignoring the way his body protested against moving so soon after the inflicted damage, Law raised Kikoku and blocked his opponent's sword. 

“Nice reflexes,” Diamante praised smugly. If he was disappointed in missing his mark he certainly didn’t show it. He probably thought there would be plenty of more chances for that, as the overly confident man that he was. 

Law was not about to let that happen, however. He put some distance between himself and his opponent and kept his stance a defensive one. 

“That sword of yours is damn fine though, I must say,” Diamante continued and tilted his head to the side a little as he studied Kikoku more thoroughly, before the grin on his face turned into a disgusting leer. 

“After I’ve killed you I’ll take it for myself. As a trophy.”

“...”

“And to return the favor from before I’ll cut out **your** heart and give it to Doffy. Then he’ll have at least something to remember you by.”

He finished the declaration with an obnoxious laugh and while it was clearly meant as a taunt, Law didn’t think much of it. He knew that staying calm and composed was the key factor to victory here because if there was anything Diamante enjoyed during a fight, it was to taunt and goad his opponents. So he merely stayed silent and observed the other carefully, waiting for him to make the next move. 

“It’s a shame your man got burnt to ash or we could’ve done the same with him. I’m sure Doffy would’ve been happy to keep his head as a souvenir if anyone had suggested it. Mount it up on his wall. Trebol’s imagination is too limited, wouldn’t you say?”

When Law still didn’t give him the reaction he had hoped for, Diamante pushed further. 

“Remember what I told you that day? Whose fault the whole thing was?”

He didn’t need to elaborate further on that point. Law knew exactly what he meant and what point he was about to make. He kept his face neutral during the upcoming speech, but as much as he wished otherwise at that moment, he was only human and felt an uncomfortable twist of guilt and shame in his gut. 

_‘You brought this on yourself, you know.’_

_‘It’s what you get for going against Doffy.’_

“It was all yours. I’m not just talking about you getting yourself into that fuckin’ mess, but it was _your_ fault they all died. That your boyfriend, no, _fiance,_ died. If he hadn’t gotten involved with you he’d still be alive! _All_ of them would’ve been alive!”

Law’s eyes twitched the slightest bit; one would have had to pay close attention to see it, which, Diamante of course had. 

“Oh did I make you angry?”

_Calm down. Don’t let him get to you._

“Not at all.”

“You sure? You look kinda pissed,” Diamante goaded and took a provocative step towards him as if to inspect his face closer. When he wasn’t given that satisfaction, Law tilting his head down to shadow his eyes with his cap, he made yet another attempt. 

“The two of you looked so cute together. A shame he-”

“At least I could _get_ a fiance in the first place,” Law interrupted and grinned when Diamante’s shoulders tensed and the smug look vanished as if it had never been there in the first place.

“ _I_ didn’t get rejected and _I_ managed to get myself a first date. In fact, I didn’t even have to ask for it.”

He knew the full story behind Diamante’s failed romance; a woman named Scarlet whom he’d been in love with for years but never managed to seduce. She had turned him down several times and chosen another man over him, an ex soldier who’d lost one of his legs in battle. As a vain and superficial man, Diamante had not been able to grasp how such a beautiful woman could prefer such an invalid. A dull and unfashionable invalid, as Diamante had referred to him as. 

It was a sore spot for Diamante and there were few people who knew about it. Anyone who wasn’t part of the Family’s inner circle that found out about it had either been killed by Diamante himself or been wise enough to never speak of it.

“Oh, did I make you angry?” Law asked knowingly, copying Diamante’s words from earlier when he had been on the receiving end of them and took note how the man’s nostrils flared. 

“You shitty brat,” Diamante growled through his clenched teeth and raised his sword, ”I’ll kill you!”

Law readied himself into a defensive stance and held Kikoku up with both hands. His expression was now back to its former neutral frown. Calm and confident and ridden of any fear. 

“Then come.”

It was time to finish this. He’d been hoping for a more satisfying and challenging duel but it turned out to be another disappointment. Said disappointment did not come as much of a surprise to him, though, as he despite his hopes had suspected as much. As formidable as Diamante was, there was no stopping his bad habits and tendencies in battle. Law had just been kind enough to give him a fair chance to prove him wrong. 

Diamante didn’t hesitate to accept the invitation and with a loud roar sprang forward with his sword held high above his head, ready to cleave Law in two. 

It was rather ironic; Diamante had been so intent on riling Law up with his taunts to deprive him of his concentration and yet it was he who was losing his focus. The attack was sloppy and predictable; in his rage Diamante had made mistakes someone of his caliber should no longer be capable of and so Law sidestepped the swing with ease. The tip of the sword crashed into the ground with a loud bang as it missed its target and before Diamante could do much else, Law chopped the blade in two at the middle with Kikoku. 

Diamante’s mouth parted with audible gasp and was quick to put some distance between himself and his opponent. He looked at his broken sword, then up at Law and felt his previous anger return when the shock faded. 

“You little shit,” he bit out and raised one of his arms high up in the air to signal whoever it was he was just about to address and shouted, “take him out, guys! Do it now!”

When several seconds passed by without anything happening, he looked around with confusion evident on his face but turned back to Law when the latter spoke up. 

“If you mean your little group of snipers then I took them out before the fight started.”

“W-what!? You knew?”

Law shrugged. 

“Of course. I never trusted you to play fair to begin with and had the place scanned before you arrived.”

With an audible click of irritation on his tongue, Diamante threw his severed sword to the side and reached into the inner pocket of his coat. Law immediately deciphered the intention and leaped forward too quickly for Diamante to dodge and with a single, sideway slash cut his arm off just above the elbow. The gun fell to the ground, followed by Diamante and his severed limb. 

“Gaahhh!”

“Damn sharp, isn’t it?” Law said casually and inspected the stained blade, his hard eyes reflecting in the shiny metal, before looking down his nose at the wailing Diamante who was writhing around on the floor like a worm on a hook. 

“Kin’emon told me the blade is so refined and sharp that it takes at least five whole seconds before the pain of a cut is registered. Possibly even longer. Now, either he lied in my face or you have an abnormally shitty pain tolerance.”

Pursing his lips, he spat a generous amount of saliva in Diamante’s face with a look of distaste. To think that everything had been taken from him by this pathetic piece of shit. His happiness, his loved ones and most importantly his _dignity_. 

“Or maybe I used it wrong,” Law then said thoughtfully, “Shall we try again and see? Just to confirm it.”

“N-no please!”

Ignoring the stuttering plea, Law took his time trailing his gaze over Diamante’s body with the purpose of selecting the next target for his attack. And after a while his eyes settled on the man’s right leg. 

“Oh that’s right. Last time we met you had a lot of fun stomping on my leg, didn’t you? The one Vergo shot me in.”

Diamante was quick to understand the implication and had it been possible, his eyes would have grown even wider. 

“I suppose I should be grateful that it amused you more than cutting me up did.”

Diamante had brought his sword with him that time but barely even used it when he could have. Law was supposed to die on that day anyway, and as long they didn’t hurt his face too much or killed him- Doflamingo had the claim to the final blow-, the others were free to do as they pleased. Pressing his heel down on the bullet in his leg and kicking him around had been more appealing to Diamante than using his sword, apparently.

“That being said,” Law said and his expression hardened, “I’m still pissed about it.”

Diamante opened his mouth for another attempt at begging, but before he could so much as utter a single syllable, his right leg was severed clean off. Another perfect cut like a hot knife through butter. 

“1, 2, 3-”

“Ahhhh!”

“Definitely shitty pain tolerance. I _know_ I did it properly this time.”

It was only a matter of time -quite little time at that - before Diamante bled out and before that there was one thing Law wanted to do. Fixing his cold stare at the severed leg, he lifted his right foot and pressed the toe of his boot into the exposed raw flesh. He kept it there for a minute and watched the other’s pathetic form and listened to his wails until they grew somewhat more quiet. 

Once satisfied he removed his foot and backed a few steps to ready himself for the final blow. There was no point in prolonging things; he had two more people to kill. 

“Aghh f-fuck you! I’m not gonna die like this!” Diamante shouted at him but the heat of his words were significantly reduced by his current state on the ground. 

Law scoffed and lifted his arm, Kikoku gleaming ominously in the orange evening light as it was held up high in the air. 

“The weak don’t get to choose how they die...isn’t that right?”

A motto they had all abided by as part of Doflamingo’s Family. 

“Nooo!” Diamante screamed when the blade came down...

...and soon his head was separated from his shoulders with yet another single, clean strike of Kikoku’s blade. 

Second Target: Eliminated


	5. Vergo Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Vergo chapters will be split into two parts, as will the flashbacks. 
> 
> NOTE: I will refer to Kid as Eustass in this chapter, just to let you now. I think it's a nice name in comparison to "Kid". Just personal preference so pls don't whine about it <3
> 
> Thanks to all of you who commented, gave kudos, bookmarked or simply took the time to read this fic!

_ It was with an unrivaled confidence and nonchalance that Vergo marched down the aisle with his blunt staff out and ready in one hand and cared nothing for the carnage that had just begun to take place behind him. The sound of Trebol and Diamante’s rifles blending with the loud and confused screams of the crowd was even less significant to him. His attention was focused ahead where Law and his intended husband -Vergo hadn’t bothered to remember his name- faced the quickly dying crowd with matching faces of horror.  _

_ But as expected of someone of Law’s caliber, it didn’t take long before he recovered and with the instincts of a trained killer kicking in he was quick to understand the situation and act accordingly. He threw himself at his fiance and urged him to run.  _

_ Vergo knew from personal experience that Law was not to be underestimated. Even with the disadvantage of being disarmed and caught off guard, he was more than capable of escaping if given the chance. In the past Law wouldn’t have thought twice of doing so to save himself, but now that he had someone dear enough to him to forgo selfishness and reason, he became predictable by default. Law’s aim was for him and his fiance to escape together and he would put himself in the front to shield the other if needed be.  _

_ So out of character that one had to wonder just how that brutish-looking redhead had managed to charm him to such lengths. And perhaps the biggest mystery of all, at least to Vergo, how Law could possibly prefer him over Doflamingo in the first place. What could possibly be worth leaving their young master for? _

_ The moment Law made his first move, reaching out to his intended husband, Vergo quickly drew his pistol out of the inner pocket of his suit and with a trained, flawless precision put a bullet through Law’s upper thigh. It wasn’t a fatal wound but enough to prevent him from causing any real trouble.  _

_ Just as Law’s fingers brushed against Eustass’ arm, his leg gave out and he fell to his hands and knees on the hard floor with a grunt.  _

_ Albeit a little slower, Eustass somewhat recovered from the shock as well and reached out towards Law but only had time to utter his name, along with a curse or two, before he was subjected to a similar treatment. He was shot twice; one bullet to his leg and another to his arm, both limbs suffering from shattered bone whereas Law had gotten away with only a nasty flesh wound. He joined Law on the floor, landing on his side a short distance away from him.  _

_ “Eustass!” _

_ Ignoring the pain in his thigh and gathering strength from the rush of adrenaline, Law closed the gap between them and hurriedly placed his hands on Eustass’ body to make sure he was still conscious. But he wasn’t allowed that small luxury for long and was sent flying backwards by a hard swing of Vergo’s steel staff, successfully separating him from his fiance once more.  _

_ Vergo came to a halt in front of Law’s collapsed form, towering over him with his height, and glanced down at him with that stoic expression he was known for. Law tilted his head up to meet the stare with a defiant look, teeth bared like a rabid animal and eyes filled with murderous intent.  _

_ It was enough to bring the slightest change to Vergo’s composure; a vein bulged in his forehead and when he spoke next his frustration could be heard through his tone.  _

_ “What’s that look for?”  _

_ He bent down and with his free hand took hold of the collar of Law’s dress shirt to roughly yank him up closer to his face.  _

_ “You have no right to be upset about this.” _

_ “D-don’t touch him, you piece of shit!” Eustass snapped ahead of them and struggled to lift himself up from the floor.  _

_ With such a strong and hard body it wasn’t too much of a surprise that he could still move, Vergo supposed, but it was a rather pathetic sight to behold. He gave the young man an unimpressed look and was about to urge him not to interfere when Law used the distraction to get his hand off him and landed a punch to his face.  _

_ Vergo’s head snapped to the side and for a moment he remained still and silent, as if it hadn’t bothered him at all. But then, when Law tried to get back up on his feet, he sighed and returned the gesture by driving a fist into his gut.  _

_ “Ughh!” Law bit out a grunt through his teeth and had no time to defend himself as he was pushed back down to the floor, this time landing on his front and Vergo’s booted foot slamming down on his back to keep him in place. _

_ “Stay down.” _

_“Get off_ _him! Motherfucker, I’ll *cough* I'll kill you!”_

_ Law tilted his head up to look at Eustass through his blurred vision.  _

_ ‘No, don’t provoke him,’ is what he wanted to say, knowing how unwise it was to utter such things to Vergo who despised being disrespected by those younger than himself, but the prior strike to his gut was making it difficult and most of his efforts were spent on trying to breathe properly.  _

  
  


_ Even with a busted leg and arm, Eustass managed to get up on one knee...before he was shot again. This time by Doflamingo who had been observing the scene from the altar to Vergo’s right.  _

_ BANG _

_ One bullet delivered to Eustass’ chest with every intention to cause as much pain as possible, but not to kill right away. He collapsed forward and failed to catch his fall; the blood that pooled out from his mouth as he panted and groaned from the pain spread out across the white marble floor, dying it with a contrasting dark red.  _

_ But even in his final struggle, Eustass slowly turned his head to settle his now clouded eyes on Law. _

_ Vergo snagged hold of Law’s hair and pulled him up to his knees before taking his staff into both hands and held it firmly under Law’s chin, pressing it against his throat and forcibly tilting his head up. And it was in that position that Law was forced to watch Doflamingo approach Eustass with his gun loaded and ready for another shot.  _

_ The  _ **_final_ ** _ shot.  _

_ Law could only see Doflamingo’s back but the pink feather coat was not enough to hide the tension of his posture, a telltale sign of his rage, and he knew exactly what kind of expression the man was currently sporting.  _

_ Doflamingo stopped just inches away from Eustass and held his gun out, aimed straight for his head.  _

_ Law knew what was coming and made a useless attempt at begging for the other man’s life. _

_ “No! Wait, Dof-” _

_ BANG _

_ The third bullet was fired and Law watched as Eustass landed face down on the floor next to Doflamingo’s feet.  _

* * *

“Well, this is a surprise,” Vergo said with his usual monotone that was quite contradictory to his words, when Doflamingo showed up at his doorstep nine o’clock that evening. His boss had not informed him of his visit beforehand...or had he? Vergo couldn’t remember and probably never would no matter how hard he tried. Not that Doflamingo was obliged to do so as he always did as he pleased and Vergo would always welcome his presence no matter what. 

“Is it?” Doflamingo asked with a knowing grin and fully stepped inside the house when entrance was granted, “I would have thought you were expecting me to show up one of these days considering the circumstances.”

Vergo closed the door and followed the other man into the living room. 

“You mean Law,” came Vergo’s immediate response which was uttered as a statement rather than a question. 

Doflamingo hummed in affirmative and made himself seated in one of the couches as if it belonged to _him_. In fact, with the way he carried himself one may have thought he owned the whole house all together. Not too far from the truth considering that  _ everything _ that was connected to the Family, including his subordinates and their possessions, belonged to him. 

While he made himself comfortable Vergo remained standing up and gestured towards a tall wooden cabinet by the nearby wall. 

“Would you like some wine? I have a few Dressrosian* reds stored up.”

A question he already knew the answer to but asked regardless out of courtesy. 

“Yes. Thank you.”

It was a well known fact within the Family that Dressrosian red wines were Doflamingo’s favorite drink and he would seldom accept anything else when -not  _ if _ \- a drink was offered to him. So Vergo always made sure to keep some in stock at home for whenever his superior came for a visit, unannounced or not. 

From the cabinet he brought out a fresh bottle and two crystal glasses engraved with Doflamingo’s emblem, and while unscrewing the cork made an additional comment on the matter at hand. 

“I hear he’s been doing rather well so far...”

He filled one of the glasses and handed it out towards the other while adding, “...still, I’m surprised Kin’emon agreed to craft him a brand new sword.”

Doflamingo chuckled and accepted the offered glass. 

“The most obvious things seem to surprise you today, Vergo. It isn’t like you.”

With his grin widening the slightest bit Doflamingo gave the glass a few gentle swirls to enhance the flavor and aroma of the wine. His eyes stayed focused on the dark liquid sloshing around as he elaborated his point. 

“Kin’emon would be more than happy to make a sword meant for killing me, despite his retirement. Law has a good way with words when it comes to all that gruesome stuff and I’m sure he painted quite the beautiful picture of what he wants to do to me.”

Well, that much was true and the fact didn’t sit well with Vergo at all. To someone as loyal and devoted as himself, he could not understand how a person so loved by Doflamingo could ever think of betraying him like that. Running off and leaving the Family unannounced was one thing, but Law had thrown himself into the arms of another man while still in Doflamingo’s possession. A double betrayal that naturally was punishable by death. Law had been outright foolish to believe himself able to get away with such blasphemy. 

Vergo could simply not  _ understand.  _

He had never been particularly fond of Law in the first place but neither had he  _ hated _ him. As a fellow assassin and trained fighter he acknowledged his skills and there was no denying the good work Law had always done for the Family. But what had made it possible for Vergo to tolerate him for so long, was the fact that Law had always made Doflamingo happy. Everyone in the Family’s inner circle had been able to tell and for that, Law had always been a respected member. But that respect was now gone and if it was up to Vergo, the brat would have been put to death while still in his coma. 

“Do you still keep yours?” Vergo inquired with a tilt of his head after he had taken a seat in one of the armchairs on the opposite side of the couch. 

“Of course,” Doflamingo scoffed, “It’s priceless, after all. I don’t use it as often these days but throwing it away or even selling it would be downright foolish. Law included, Kin’emon has only given away 5 swords to non-samurai warriors, you know.”

“Yes I suppose so.”

“Speaking of which...you heard what Law did to Diamante and his group, didn’t you?”

The Corrida incident. It had made it in the newspaper a few days back but the more gruesome details had been left out and through some of Doflamingo's many connections, any evidence hinting towards the Family’s involvement had been glossed over and kept secret from the public. Corruption was such a wonderful and convenient thing; there was plenty of it to be found,  _ especially  _ in the higher places and such esteemed customers brought plenty of valuable benefits. It certainly spared Doflamingo a lot of time and trouble.

A few assassinations here and there and suddenly one had the whole world at one’s feet. 

While waiting for Vergo’s reply, Doflamingo took his first small sip of wine with all the practiced grace of a true connoisseur. He could immediately tell what kind it was, the fine quality and roughly how long it had been aged. Of course, he had not expected anything less from Vergo who was very familiar with his tastes by now. 

“Diamante was found with his head severed from his body, along with a few other limbs. As for his subordinates, I’ve heard rumors.”

“Do tell.”

Vergo put his glass down on the sofa table between them and adjusted his shades.

“He killed Corrida Arena's ten best fighters, cut their hearts out and sent them to Diamante himself as a means of challenge.”

Doflamingo chuckled. His grin stretched wider, as if hearing the incident spoken by someone else made it so much more real. A confirmation of Law’s ruthlessness. 

“He has always had a taste for the morbid stuff. And while he refuses to admit it, he’s just as cruel and twisted as me...if not more.”

With a small shake of his head he breathed out a sigh to make his disappointment known. 

“I had such high hopes for him.”

He then met Vergo’s gaze head on with meaningful look hidden behind his own pair of shades. 

“They’re not rumors though, apart from one little detail. He collected Diamante’s heart too. And this whole incident has given my darling a new nickname among the police. Do you know what it is?”

“Heart Stealer, I believe.”

Doflamingo hummed pleasantly against the rim of his glass and took another sip. 

_ “ _ You’re proud of him _.” _

It wasn’t a question. Vergo could tell by the way his boss spoke and the laughter that came next as a reply confirmed that even more. 

“Of course! I daresay I even find it endearing. Just imagine what messy,  _ filthy _ work it must've been to accomplish such a thing.”

Law must’ve been drenched in blood head to toe after opening up so many bodies and cutting out the hearts. He’d probably enjoyed it too. No, he had  _ definitely  _ enjoyed it if Doflamingo knew him right. Which, he flattered himself, he still  _ did _ . Even after the betrayal and ridiculous farce of attempting to live a normal, honest life, Law was a cold-blooded killer through and through. Nothing would ever be able to change that. 

Blood on his hands, face, clothes... _ everywhere _ . Even more stained than he’d been on that day in the church wearing the white sheep suit. 

Maybe Law had even harvested a few hearts while they were still beating, cutting them out while their owners were still alive. Maybe he’d even tasted some of them and licked his fingers clean afterwards. 

Oh it was such a pretty picture to imagine; one that had Doflamingo lick his lips with anticipation.

It had been a while since the two of them fought but it had always been a matter of sparring rather than serious fights of life and death. As Law’s mentor and superior, he had an obligation to keep himself updated with the progress of his training. Sure, there had been the occasional lover’s spat in which they tried to cut each other up in the heat of the moment, but they were usually quickly resolved and never went too far. 

But now...well, a bloody and brutal fight to the death between the two of them sounded really nice. He wanted to see what his darling could accomplish fueled by his newfound hatred and rage towards him. 

Law had always been prone to those particular emotions since the day they first met; his eyes had been filled with it and drawn Doflamingo in right away. Not only did it remind him of himself when he was younger, but Law had the most beautiful eyes he’d ever beheld. A weakness that the little whelp had used against him many times to get his way both inside and outside the bedroom. 

Though he couldn’t help but wonder...

_ ‘Will you be able to kill me, Law?’ _

“He’ll come for me soon,” Vergo said then, bringing Doflamingo’s inner musings to an abrupt end.

“I know.”

“And I won’t show him any mercy.”

“I know that too.”

“And you’re fine with that?”

Doflamingo smiled and leaned back in his seat, tilting his head to look up at the ceiling.

“He wants to kill all of us for revenge and we owe him a fair chance to try. If he can’t get past you, then it means he wasn’t strong enough and therefore not worth my time.”

‘ _ Is that truly how you feel?’  _ Vergo wanted to ask but wisely held his tongue.

It was difficult to tell. Doflamingo was a hard man to read, even for Vergo who had known him for decades. He could only guess and hypothesize but never come to a certain conclusion. 

His current hypothesis was that Doflamingo was relieved that Law had survived the massacre and wanted to see him again in person. Perhaps he even wanted Law to forgive him and go back to the way things used to be between them. 

And perhaps Doflamingo had never meant for Law to die on that day. 

It was that very thought that had Vergo worried ever since the news of Law’s recovery became known. Even more so when Doflamingo had made it clear that he wouldn’t seek out Law and kill him. No member of the Family was to kill him while still in his comatose either; an absolute order punishable by death should it ever be disobeyed. 

For whatever reason Vergo could not understand, his superior had quickly fallen hard for that insolent pup once he’d grown up into a fine, handsome killer. And while Doflamingo denied all accusations of favoritism it was obvious that he favored Law a little more over the others.

As ruthless and skilled a fighter as he was, when it came to Law...Vergo knew that Doflamingo was soft. And if his current hypothesis was in fact correct, then eliminating Law was the same thing as eliminating Doflamingo’s weakness and saving him from himself. Vergo knew it was something he had to do without fail, even if he died in the process. 

Trebol and Diamante had both been careless; they had underestimated Law and simply waited for him to show up without much concern, going on about their lives and foolishly ignoring Doflamingo’s warning. 

Vergo would not make the same mistake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * Dressrosian = A made up conjugation of anything made from Dressrosa. Dressrosian wine, Dressrosian clothes etc....


	6. Vergo part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One word: Ew. 
> 
> This guy gave me a lot of trouble and hair-pulling moments. But it's done and I can finally forget about it and move on with my life, that is, the next chapter. 
> 
> A big thanks to everyone for your comments, kudos and overall support! I always read the comments but prefer to address them here in the authors note.
> 
> READ!!!! Haki will be introduced in this chapter but it does NOT work the exact same was as in the One Piece canon! It is more of a martial art technique used by Shao-Lin Monks where they harden their bodies to withstand blows and break hard surfaces with their hands etc through chi and breathing blah blah. I am explaining this here and ONLY here, I will NOT explain myself by replying to individual comments about how this isn't how Haki works yadda yadda. Or how the real monks use it for that matter. I am making most of it up and taking inspiration from both sides.

From the rooftop of a tall skyscraper, Monet watched through a pair of binoculars with her hawk-like eyes as Law stealthily entered the building on the opposite side of the road. It was rather adorable how naive he was, thinking himself to be ahead of them and succeeding with his little scheme, when in reality he was just like a little bird following a trail of breadcrumbs.

She had to give him some credit though; Law was doing a good job infiltrating the place and his plan itself wasn’t too shabby. He probably would have gotten away with it if Vergo hadn’t been so careful and sent Monet to watch him.  She licked her lips, an old habit of hers whenever her hunting instincts kicked in. It was a tempting thought to go after Law and catch him off guard. To use her poisoned blades on him and play a little before going in for the kill. Just the way she liked it. 

Unfortunately her orders left no room for such fun and her disappointment came in the form of a long sigh that only she could hear. 

Suppressing her urges, Monet pressed the speed dial on her phone and held it to her ear. She only had to wait through two signals before her superior picked up on the other end of the line. 

“It’s as you predicted,” she said while keeping her eyes on Law, “his objective was indeed the G-5 office. Punk Hazard was a diversion.”

…

“Yes.”

…

“Well, you know how scientists are. Caesar’s intelligence is limited to his own interests.”

...

“Affirmative. I put them there, as instructed.”

…

“Understood.”

With the report delivered, the call was put to an end. Monet lowered her binoculars for now and put the phone back in her pocket. Now all she had to do was wait to confirm Law’s exit and her mission would be over. 

* * *

Vergo was Doflamingo’s most trusted man. While he shared the same position as Trebol and Diamante on paper, he stood above them in status due to his official title as the boss’ right hand man. Not only had he earned himself said title and such high esteem from Doflamingo due to his strength and skill, but he was loyal to a near fault and would do anything Doflamingo asked of him without question whatever it may be.  It was also Vergo who was left in charge of everything whenever Doflamingo himself was away on long term business and in his absence had the authority to make whatever decision regarding Family affairs that he deemed necessary.

He would be a tough opponent to beat; a formidable hand-to-hand combatant, quick and versatile, calculative and a master in his preferred weapon style, the blunt staff. 

But most important of all, he was an expert in the art of Haki*. A technique that hardened one’s body like an invisible armor, achieved through years of mental and physical training. One needed a strong body and mind as well as an understanding of a certain breathing method close to that of meditation. One could even use Haki to temporarily negate damage that had already been dealt to the body and ignore its effects.  It was a difficult technique to master, even for the most talented fighters. Only a handful of the Family members were able to use it and even fewer able to control it properly. And what made Vergo so formidable was the fact that he had mastered it to such a high level so quickly. In fact, his Haki was just as good as Doflamingo himself. 

Trebol and Diamante were nothing in comparison and Law knew that he wouldn’t get out of this fight as scot-free as the previous ones if his initial plan failed. He had to be careful and make sure to go after Vergo when he was by himself, without any minions to assist him. Once he had, he would have to get it over with quickly and go straight for the kill. No honorable duel on equal terms, no speeches and no unnecessary risks. 

Law had shadowed Vergo for the past couple of days. To gather information on his routines and find any opportunity that may help him achieve his goal. Due to his past involvement with the Family, Law knew enough about Vergo to get himself a head start. He knew where to look and what to look  _ for.  _

He knew that Vergo dealt a lot with the Family’s more confidential businesses that went on behind the scenes and outside the assassination sphere. One of said businesses was the dealing of weapons; the Family had several bases where chemical and physical weapons alike were being produced and developed for some of the most powerful people and organisations in the world, but also for private clients of less significance. Doflamingo didn't limit himself when it came to his customer base. 

Whether it was dealing with the customers directly in person, shipment or simple maintenance, Vergo usually worked alone. It was more efficient that way, Doflamingo thought, and considerably more discreet. And after shadowing him for a couple of days, Law had gained information on a weapon stash that Vergo was in charge of and checked regularly. An old warehouse by a harbor in the northern part of the city. Nothing too big, just a place where a dozen or so containers of firearms were held and ready for shipping to a customer in a neighboring country; a mercenary group employed by some nobleman. And as said group was a regular customer, there were constantly new orders coming in and had to be inspected a few times every month. 

The information had been rather easy to get a hold of. Law had been careful and kept himself at a distance safe enough to be discreet and unseen while still able to achieve what he was after.  First he’d caused some minor trouble at another base under Vergo’s care, just enough to require his personal attention and enable Law to infiltrate his main office late one night and get his hands on some documents.  On the day before his planned assassination, Law had then gone to check the place out to get an idea of its layout. 

The warehouse itself wasn’t anything special to look at from the outside; it was old and any onlooker would think it had been abandoned for years. Some of the walls were discolored and rusty, several windows broken and the entrance door was only locked by a single chain and padlock that could be forced open if one was determined enough.  The inside was equally bland. A big empty hall except for a few rows of bare shelves, stacks of old wooden crates and some insignificant junk scattered here and there. A few light bulbs hung in a row from the ceiling in the center, only giving light to that particular part of the building in the form of a path, and leaving the walls and corners in shadow. 

Nothing impressive, nothing suspicious and therefore no reason for anyone to take an interest in it. An intentional choice, Law was sure of it. 

The true value could be found at the farthest end of the room, underneath an iron grid walkway where a thick metal hatch led down to a cellar. It was there that the weapons was being stored and the hatch was kept sealed shut with several locks, the biggest of which could only be unlocked by a code known only to Vergo and Doflamingo. 

After having scanned the place, Law decided to spend the night and wait for Vergo to arrive for his rounds the next day.  And just as expected, Vergo arrived at 11 in the morning all by himself. Law was seated by one of the broken windows from which he had a clear view of the outside area and as soon as he saw the car pull up on the wide lot, he quickly crossed the room and crouched behind a stack of wooden crates not far away from the hidden metal hatch. He would hide there and wait for Vergo to get close, then attack from behind while he was busy working the several locks. 

Soon enough Vergo entered the building, the metal double doors giving off a rusty squeak that echoed between the old walls. From his hiding spot Law watched through narrowed eyes as his target made his way towards the hidden stash, recalling how the man had beaten him up that day in the church just before Doflamingo shot him. How, after Trebol had voiced his idea of burning the place down, Vergo had broken his arm and a few of his ribs while throwing him around like a rag doll. 

His grip around the handle of his katana tightened with the sudden surge of anger, his desire for revenge and the urge to kill coming back to him at full force. But when he heard Vergo remove the grid covering the hatch, he immediately snapped out of it and willed those hateful thoughts away. It wouldn’t do him any good to give in to that anger; he had to stay focused.

Law closed his eyes for a brief second and took a deep, quiet breath through his nose to calm himself down. Again he adjusted his grip on the handle and then he moved; he rounded the corner of the crate, starting to draw Kikoku from its scabbard and ready to deliver the killing blow...only to come to an abrupt halt when Vergo was no longer to be seen. 

Law had only taken his eyes off him for the split of a second. 

He didn’t have the time to dwell on the confusing turn of events as he heard something behind him and suddenly Vergo emerged from the shadows. But Law’s reaction was a tad too late. Just as he turned around and about to defend himself, he felt something being shoved into his side and he was stunned by an intense shock of electricity.

With a silent gasp he fell to the floor, unable to catch himself and finding the majority of his body paralyzed.

_'_ _ Shit.’ _

He was dragged out into the light by the hood of his jacket and then none too gently dropped face first. 

Vergo took his time observing his unmoving form before with a slow and confident pace went around to stand in front of him, just under the light bulb. Law tilted his head as much as he could to meet Vergo’s gaze and he could tell immediately, without a doubt, that a condescending look could be found behind those black shades. 

“It’s been a while, Law.” 

“…”

“I must say you are a lot clumsier than I remember. I knew you wouldn’t be able to resist such an opportunistic shortcut to get to me, but you should know better than to flaunt your blood lust around like that. I could sense it the moment I arrived.”

“So it was a trap after all,” Law rasped out and then winced when his efforts were met by an aftershock from the taser zapping through his body.

“Naturally. I had Monet watching you while you thought you were watching  _ me _ . She reported everything you did, including that diversion at Punk Hazard. Hmph. Your victory against Trebol and Diamante made you overconfident and now here you are. To think you actually fell for such a simple trick.”

“I had considered the option, but I thought I had the upper hand with the preparations.”

Vergo seemed almost offended by this. 

“Did you think I would be that careless with such information if it did exist? It was only a means to lure you in.” 

“…” 

“And if this  _ was _ a base of operation under my care, do you think I would have maintained it with such pitiful care? Your disadvantage is your lack of intel on the Family business after being away for so long. Things have changed since you left.”

“Tch,” Law scoffed, inwardly cursing himself for his carelessness and frustrated about the fact that Vergo was partly right, “I thought just getting you alone would make things easier. I was hoping to catch you off guard and kill you quickly.”

Vergo’s brows drew together into a slight frown and he sighed. 

“After all these years you should have learned not to underestimate grownups, Law. I would’ve thought I had gotten that through your head after so many years of reminding you. Your objective makes you predictable and had you not made such a spectacle out of your other killings then maybe I wouldn’t have found you so easily.”

He then held the taser up to show it to Law properly before putting it away.

“It’s one of our newer models. Don’t think too badly of me for using it. Some would consider it cowardly but I’m simply being cautious because I know what you’re capable of, despite this failure of yours. I’m not like those other two idiots.”

Law shifted his gaze to the side and spotted Kikoku not too far away from his hand, then settled his attention back on Vergo. He prolonged the conversation in hope of distracting the older man while slowly moving his fingers towards his sword. The movement was sluggish and caused him some discomfort due to the prior zap, but if given enough time he could reach it. 

“And yet you chose to face me by yourself, because you think you’re more than enough to take me out. Isn’t that the same as underestimating me?”

“Luring you in and incapacitating you from the start is me  _ not  _ underestimating you. Obviously it’s in my best interest if you are unable to move. And any additional assistance would only get in my way.”

“You think that taser is enough to-nggh!”

He trailed off into a pained groan when Vergo stomped down on his hand reaching out for Kikoku, having noticed the movement almost instantly. 

“I won’t let you touch that thing again. Diamante was a fool; even as a swordsman he didn’t fully acknowledge the true danger of a Kin’emon sword.”

He pressed down a little harder with his foot and found some enjoyment in the additional sound Law made in response.

“I’m curious...if I had let you grab it, what would you have done? You can’t move the majority of your body as of now, isn’t that right? Were you going to try and cut my legs off?”

With a blade that sharp, such a thing wouldn't be impossible even in Law’s current position. And Law wasn’t honorable enough to forgo such tactics; it was definitely something he would do if given the opportunity.

As it was, that had exactly been Law’s intention. 

“It’s not like I need it to kill you,” Law bit out, deciding to forgo the obvious answer to that question, and gave Vergo a hateful glare. 

Though it would be considerably harder without it, for sure, and Vergo would take full advantage of the fact. 

Without a word, Vergo grabbed hold of the front of Law’s jacket, lifted him up and threw him across the room. After a painful landing Law tumbled over the floor several turns and wasn’t allowed a moment to recover as Vergo came after him with a hard swing of his staff, followed by a kick that sent him crashing into another stack of wooden crates. The impact was powerful enough to make some of them crack and others tumble over, followed by a cloud of dust.

Law could tell from that kick that Vergo was already using Haki, and bit out a curse under his ragged breath. 

If he wanted any chance of winning, he would have to do the same and be quick about it. Taking too long would get him killed. 

While he watched Vergo approach, Law focused his breathing and squirmed experimentally to get a feel of the current condition of his body. The paralysis of the taser was slowly beginning to wear off and he’d be able to move soon enough, even sooner if he could focus his Haki properly. 

During his stay in Wano while waiting for Kin’emon to make his sword, Law had occasionally taken the time to meditate and reflect on his training with Sengoku, a former teacher of his that Doflamingo had sent him to many years ago in order to learn the Haki technique. But his priority had been to strengthen his muscles after being bedridden in his coma for so long, as well as regain his efficiency in the general combat skills he used the most; hand-to-hand, swordplay and gunnery. 

After going up against Trebol and Diamante, he had taken a few days to make up for the Haki training he had neglected, because he knew he would need it against Vergo. 

Law took another deep breath, wincing at the painful throb it caused to his body, and recalled some of the more crucial lessons of his former teacher. Even if he managed to stay relatively calm, the sight of Vergo’s imposing form coming to a halt in front of him did inflict a sense of urgency that interfered with his concentration. 

“This brings back memories, doesn’t it?” Vergo commented casually as he looked down his nose at Law’s unmoving body on the floor, “Last time I was throwing you around like this too. And you were just as helpless then as you are now.”

Dropping his staff, Vergo grabbed Law by the throat and lifted him up nearly to his level. 

“However,” he continued and raised his fist, no doubt Haki infused, “this time that smart-ass face of yours isn’t off limits.”

Law braced himself for the inevitable punch. He closed his eyes and grit his teeth together hard to derive Vergo the satisfaction of hearing any sound he wished to draw out of him. 

Just like the previous blows dealt to him, it sent him flying a few metres and he ended up landing on his front and face down.  The punch was painful but not unbearable. Law had had worse before and he’d managed to focus enough Haki to shield his face from the damage somewhat, but only enough for Vergo not to notice. It was a small price to pay if it meant his plan would succeed and allow him to leave with his life intact.

“I’ve never liked you,” Vergo said as he bent down to pick his staff up, “I think you are an insufferable, insolent brat who thinks too highly of himself.”

Law didn’t move. Or rather, he stayed still to make Vergo believe he was still incapacitated and waited for him to get close enough when he began to approach him once more. 

“That doesn’t mean I don’t hold some respect for you, though. I think you deserve a long and painful death but because of that respect, and Doffy’s high regard for you, I will finish you off now.”

In one quick movement Law drew out a folding knife strapped to a wristband hidden beneath the sleeve of his coat, stabbed it into Vergo’s leg before pulling it out again and using the brief moment of distraction to get up from the floor. The moment he was on his feet he surged forward and aimed the knife for Vergo’s neck next, but missed by a few centimeters as his opponent threw his head back. 

His knife clashed with Vergo’s staff as he slashed at him again; metal against metal clanking once, twice and a third time before Law reeled back to dodge a kick coming his way from the side. 

“Hmph. So you could move,” Vergo commented casually and cracked his neck, seeming disappointed despite his monotone, “you recovered a little quicker than I had anticipated.”

He didn’t seem too bothered by the stab wound in the leg and rather than inspecting the damage, he took the time to properly take in Law’s form and was able to identify the signs instantly.

“And you’ve begun to use Haki, I see.”

Dropping his knife, Law raised his hands and took on a defensive posture, which was the only response he offered to the conversation. He was not interested in chatting with Vergo in the first place and waited for the other to make his move, which didn’t take long. 

He dodged the first two attacks and with one Haki infused arm blocked the third, Vergo’s staff colliding with it but not inflicting any damage. And so it went on for a while, Law dodging and blocking and allowing Vergo to push him back. He did take a few hits though as he wasn’t able to escape all of them. 

Such a tactic was bound to make an opponent who was aware of his skills suspicious and when they broke away from each other after another clash, Vergo decided to address it.

“All you’ve been doing is block and dodge. What are you hoping to achieve with that? This isn’t all you’ve got.”

Law gave a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders and with a smirk on his bloodied lips said, “Who knows. Maybe I’m just a little rusty.”

As soon as the words had left his mouth he contradicted them by shooting forward too quickly for Vergo to react, focused Haki into his palms and slammed them into Vergo’s chest. The impact was enough to make him retail a few steps and left him momentarily stunned. And the blood that he coughed up indicated that there was some internal bleeding. 

Law took this moment to cross the final distance to his intended location with a few steps back. 

“You’re moving faster than before…” Vergo said after another cough but kept his head still in the same up-tilted position. 

“I moved slower on purpose to get you used to that pace. You thought it would take longer for me to recover, right? I willingly took the blow from your punch earlier, to make sure you didn’t know I was using Haki to restore myself from the taser.”

“I see.”

When Vergo’s vision became focused again, he lower his head and zoned in on Kikoku that was now back in Law’s hands. 

“So that’s what you were doing.”

“Yeah. I kept you on the offensive and you didn’t realize I was leading you back here.” 

With his sword back, Law was no longer in doubt of the fight’s outcome and was ready to deliver the killing blow. Vergo would try to do the same and come at him with all he had. 

“He really does care for you, you know,” Vergo said after recovering from the attack and tightened the hold of his staff, “Even now, after you broke his heart he still feels something for you. Ever since that day when we thought we’d finished you off, he hasn’t quite been himself and-”

“You can stop it right there,” Law interjected and fully drew Kikoku from its sheath, “I didn’t come here to chat with you.”

He dropped the scabbard to the floor and lifted his sword to point it at Vergo. 

“I’m here to kill you and get revenge for what you did to me, that’s all. So spare me the useless bullshit... _ Vergo _ .”

The corners of his lips twitched upwards when he caught the way Vergo’s whole posture tensed in that particular way that Law was familiar with. The lack of proper honorific still seemed to be a sore spot for him. 

“Brat. It’s a good thing that you decided to go after me first. Doffy may not have it in him to kill you himself.”

“Shut up,” Law bit out through his teeth,“we have a fight to get on with.”

“That’s right. I’ll pay you back for breaking his heart.”

And with that said Vergo kicked off the floor and launched himself forward with another swing of his staff; one that would crack Law’s head open if it hit.

Law stayed still and waited for his opponent to come to him. The slightest misstep would be the end of him but the pressure was lost on him and strangely enough he felt calmer than he had during his previous fights. He put all his concentration into his next move and discarded any unnecessary thoughts and emotions that may interfere.

It was only when Vergo was mere inches away from him, his staff coming down to deliver that final blow to his head, that he made his move. He shot forward and swung Kikoku with both hands; one long, unwavering swing with the single intention to cut through its target. 

When Law landed on his feet, Kikoku still outstretched in his hands, he didn’t have to look at Vergo to know what became of him. During those few short seconds, he had felt the blade pierce Vergo’s Haki before tearing into his flesh, slicing through his midriff in one go and successfully cutting his body in half. 

It wasn’t until after he heard the two dull thuds of said halves as they landed on the floor that he turned around, just in time before those 5 seconds had passed and Vergo felt the delayed pain of the cut. Not even someone as proud and hardened as him could keep the pain to himself and out came a loud cry. 

Law lifted Kikoku in front of himself and observed the stained blade. 

_ ‘So Kin’emon was telling the truth, after all.’ _

“I never liked you either,” he said despite being fully aware that Vergo didn't have the capacity to process any of it.

“You should have killed me the moment you had me on the floor. Despite claiming the contrary, you are  _ just  _ like the others. You’re the one who got cocky.”

He put Kikoku back in its scabbard and didn’t stay to watch Vergo’s final moments. He made his way out of the building without looking back, feeling satisfied despite the ache in his body when he walked. 

Now all that remained was to heal up before going after his final goal. 

Doflamingo. 

Third target: Eliminated. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * haki = Like I said in the top note, in this AU Haki works how i described it and not like it does in One Piece. Obviously. If you didn't bother to read the top note then you can go back and do so to get a better understanding : )


	7. Betrayal (Flashback)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Flashback chapter! Last one, I promise! Now there's like 2 or so chapters left which will be the final confrontation. Knowing myself though I may add some unplanned things last minute so we'll see.

_APPROXIMATELY 7 MONTHS AGO_

This was utterly ridiculous.

A trained assassin. A cold-blooded, natural born killer who’d spent over half of his life murdering people for money. Rich and poor, men and women, young and old, powerful people who ruled the world and insignificant people of little importance. His targets had never been limited to any particular group; as long as the name was on the list and offered a decent sum, anything went.

He was used to carnage, to death and blood and several times even been on the brink of death himself. It had always been a normal part of his life, something he enjoyed and never held any fear towards despite the risks. And never had he ever felt remorse or guilt over it. The weak didn’t have the right to choose how they died, after all. A philosophy that had been branded into him from the day he joined the Family.

And yet, out of all the things in life, getting _married_ is what made him tremble. It downright _terrified_ him and no matter how long he’d prepared himself for this day, he couldn’t stop shaking or will away the nervous fluttering in his belly. He couldn’t _breathe._

It wasn’t that the concept of marriage was unappealing to him, -not anymore, at least- especially when his fiance was such a treasure, but it was so foreign to him that it made him feel insecure. He wasn’t in control of his emotions, a newly discovered weakness he never thought himself capable of possessing, and it scared him. 

All eyes would be on him and Eustass. What if he tripped and fell flat on his face? What if he messed up the words when it was time to say them? What if his vows weren’t good enough? What if...what if Eustass changed his mind last minute and said ‘No’? What if, a few days or weeks from now things went down the drain? What if he messed everything up because he couldn’t act like a proper husband? Would he be able to say ‘I love you’ and actually look like he meant it? Expressing himself with such things had never come naturally to him. 

Was he even suitable for marriage in the first place? 

_‘Do I even deserve this? Do I even have the right after everything I’ve done?’_

It hadn’t really been an issue until now because it had all seemed so far away with more than enough time to mentally prepare himself. But standing inside the church in his wedding suit and observing all those people seated on the rows of benches made him realize just how big of a deal this was, that it was actually about to happen.

Terrifying was certainly a good way to describe it.

But…

It was what he _wanted_. It was the life he had chosen.

He was tired of the mindless killing, tired of the person he used to be and tired of the pressure of the Family’s expectations weighing him down. To always be the strongest and scorn those who weren't. To obey and kill without question. 

He would always be grateful to Doflamingo and cherish the time spent with him and the others. In fact, he knew that he would never be able to stop loving him. But Law had realized that he wanted something different. He wanted _change_ . He wanted to change _himself._

And he _loved_ Eustass, really. He made Law happy and made him feel like a better person. A breath of fresh air that Law hadn't thought he needed before the two of them met.

“Law, what’s wrong?” 

Law was abruptly pulled out from his inner turmoil when one of his close friends, Shachi, spoke up next to him. His face sported a look of concern and one of his hands placed itself on Law’s shoulder in a gesture of comfort. 

Was it that obvious? He must’ve looked like a total wreck, then.

Swallowing down the thick lump in his throat Law gave Shachi a reassuring look, trying his best to smile. 

“Just a little nervous, that’s all.”

“You look pale.”

Law shook his head and gently shrugged the hand on his shoulder off. 

“I’ll be fine…”

Then, after a short moment of contemplation, he added, “I just need to go outside for some air by myself. I’ll be back in a minute.”

“Well...alright. Don’t take too long.”

Law nodded and didn’t stay to wait for any further interaction. He exited through the main entrance at the front, went down the short set of stone steps and walked out onto the green lawn where he began pacing back and forth. He took a long, shuddering breath and just for good measure delivered a quick slap to the side of his own face. 

“Get it together you wimp…” he muttered to himself...

...And then someone spoke up behind him. A familiar voice that Law would recognize anywhere at any time.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this nervous. You poor thing.”

Law’s reaction was instant; he froze right where he stood, eyes widening to the size of saucers and the air slowly leaving him as he once again found himself momentarily unable to breathe, but this time for a different reason. 

For a while he didn't do anything else but stare down at his own feet, almost afraid to turn around to face the man whom he knew would be there to greet him.

Almost afraid, but not quite. 

He made a quick recovery and allowed his lips to turn upwards into a smile and turned around fully. 

Doflamingo was sitting on one of the wooden benches a short distance away, relaxed and composed with one leg crossed over the other while his arms were splayed out wide across the backrest. 

He was wearing a lot of black, Law noticed as he studied his choice of attire. A tailored suit, polished dress shoes, gloves of fine leather and a silk tie; all of them dyed in that same shade of black. The components of his outfit that contained color was a dark grey dress shirt, his red-tinted shades and that iconic coat of pink feathers draped over his shoulders. The two latter items filled Law with a fond sense of nostalgia that made his smile widen the slightest bit. For as much as Doflamingo’s sudden appearance made him apprehensive, he couldn't deny that he was somewhat happy to see him again. A familiar face in such an unfamiliar situation. At least he knew how to act around Doflamingo. 

“How long have you been sitting there?” Law asked when he found his voice again, not too keen on someone who knew him so well seeing him act so embarrassingly vulnerable. 

“Long enough.”

So he’d seen everything, then. 

  
Typical. 

Doflamingo tilted his head ever so slightly and said with that same usual smirk of his, “You look absolutely ravishing, darling,”

Law scoffed in mock disappointment and replied with a slight pout. 

“Then I have failed miserably.”

He gestured at himself with one of his hands.

“I was going for the innocent and pure look. White being a sign of virtue and all that.”

Doflamingo barked out a laugh, seemingly amused by the statement. 

“Is that what _he_ thinks you are?” He asked with his grin widening, referring to Law’s fiance whom he’d caught a glimpse of earlier when the crowd entered the church.

Law crossed his arms over his chest. He tilted his head to the side with a challenging lift of his eyebrows. 

“Aren’t I?”

Instead of answering the question they both knew the answer to, Doflamingo held out one hand and beckoned Law to come to him with a wiggle of his fingers. 

“Let me have a closer look at you.”

At first Law was hesitant to oblige the request. Their conversation so far had been light hearted and casual, but Doflamingo was unpredictable and Law was still recovering from his unexpected appearance. Still, he wanted to believe in the best in his ex lover and as he took a few extra seconds to study Doflamingo, he didn’t appear to be too angry with him. He couldn’t see his eyes due to those sunglasses but after knowing the man for so long he had learned how to read other signs in order to decipher his moods. As he sat there holding his hand out towards him, smile now a tad more gentle, Law couldn’t sense any hostility and it was enough for him to approach. 

It had been nine months since he left the Family. 

_‘He’s had time to cool down. It’s fine.’_

Doflamingo loved him and would accept his decision if it made him happy. 

He stopped within reach in front of Doflamingo who remained seated and even though his eyes were hidden behind those red shades, Law could tell he was seizing him up. 

The suit looked good on Law; fitting in all the right places and the white color of the fabric made for a nice contrast against his tanned skin. The dress shirt underneath was a few shades darker and accented with a gold tie to match his eyes. 

Ravishing, just like Doflamingo had previously stated, and he would have agreed that the outfit made him look innocent and pure had he not known Law’s true self and background. There was really nothing innocent about him at all; the word Doflamingo would rather use to describe Law’s getup was _‘tame’._ Beautiful, yes, but tame. 

A wolf attempting to dress up as a sheep. 

Once done with his evaluation, Doflamingo shrugged and said, “You look better in black.”

Law rolled his eyes.

“Thanks, I guess.”

“Oi, I already complimented you once. What more do you want?”

Instead of saying anything to that, Law dropped the subject to ask the inevitable question they both knew was coming. And along with the words, Law’s demeanor changed into a more serious one.

“So, what are you doing here?”

There was a pause between the two of them. It was filled with a silence that contained a certain amount of tension but it went away when Doflamingo smiled and gave his reply. 

“I wanted to see you one last time. You owe me a proper goodbye, don’t you think?”

Slowly he rose from his seat and crossed the short distance between him and Law with a single stride. Then he placed one of his long fingers under Law’s chin and tilted it up. 

“That note of yours was disastrous.”

Experiencing the same guilt he’d felt when he wrote said note all those months back, Law averted his eyes to the side.

“Yeah...about that-”

“I could barely make out the letters at all. Was your writing always that sloppy?”

“My hand was injured from that last mission,” Law protested softly and furrowed his brows into a slight frown, but was glad that Doflamingo had chosen to approach the matter by ridiculing his writing rather than expressing his displeasure with the method itself. 

Doflamingo removed his finger from his chin and shoved his hands into the pockets of his pants.

“So...marriage, huh?”

Law nodded. 

“He’s a very lucky man. I hope he realizes that.”

“Have you seen him?”

“I have. Big guy...and kinda mean-looking.”

Doflamingo gave out an amused chuckle before adding, “didn’t think you’d be into redheads.”

Law smiled and gave a small shrug of his shoulders, finding the idea equally entertaining. The first time he’d met Eustass he had believed his hair to be dyed because _that_ kind of red couldn't possibly be natural. But Eustass had been more than happy to prove him wrong and after their first night together Law had come to the realization that it was, in fact, natural. 

“Me neither. Or at least, not redheaded _brutes_.”

“Brute ey? I hope he treats you right.”

“He has some anger issues but it’s nothing I can’t handle. In fact, I keep him in check.”

Doflamingo chuckled again. Because of course he did. 

“I wouldn’t expect anything else. Well, evidently he’s doing _something_ right if he’s charmed you into marrying him so soon. How long have you known each other?”

“About nine months. I met him a few days after my final mission.”

He kept any details of his and Eustass’ relationship as vague as possible. Doflamingo did by no means need to hear how well the two of them had hit it off right from the start and slept together after only a few days of knowing each other. 

And thankfully Doflamingo didn’t pry on that subject either. 

“So what exactly does your man do?”

“He’s a mechanic. Owns his own workshop.”

Doflamingo hummed curiously.

“A handyman.”

“He is. Certainly spares me a lot of trouble; I don’t have to learn how to change a light bulb or how radiators work.”

“Then what new things _have_ you learned? Marriage is about commitment, you know. Surely you are contributing with something.”

Law laughed and averted his eyes, a little embarrassed, and scratched the back of his neck as he recalled the messy process of his latest domestic accomplishment. 

“I can make cabbage rolls now.”

Before leaving the Family, the closest Law had ever come to cooking was holding a knife. There had always been hired chefs at every base so Law had never had the need to learn. He just had to say the word and he could have any kind of food he wanted. 

“Cooking.”

“Yeah. Took a few attempts and several obliterated ovens... but eventually I got it. It’s Eustass’ favorite.”

“Do you work? Or have you dedicated yourself to the househusband role?”

“I help him run the workshop, actually. I deal with the paperwork and customer interaction.”

“Ah, I see. _Paperwork_. Quite the change from traveling the world killing people for obscene amounts of money, wouldn’t you say?”

“It is,” Law said, noticing the underlying accusation, and finished his sentence with just a tad of defiance “and I _like_ it.”

Doflamingo observed him quietly for a few additional seconds before shrugging his shoulders. 

“To each his own, I suppose.”

The two of them shared a silent moment during which Law took the time to scan their surroundings in search for any other familiar faces. But he found none and his guard was taken down a notch. 

“Are you here by yourself?”

“As you see.”

Law lifted one of his brows, a little skeptical.

“And you came here just to see me?”

“Yes. Though...I was actually hoping you’d let me stay and watch.”

Well, Law had not expected that. 

“You...want to attend my wedding?”

“My mind would be so much more at ease knowing you’re in capable hands, which I must see and determine for myself.”

“Well-”

“After witnessing your nervous fit earlier I think you need some support from someone who’s known you for such a long time.”

Well, that much was true. Eustass had several family members and friends attending while Law only had a handful of friends on his side. Said friends were people he’d only known during the course of these past nine months, some even less and they weren’t quite able to give him the stability he needed for this. But still...was it really a good idea to have Doflamingo there? Was he really fine with it after Law's sudden disappearance? 

_'He wouldn't hurt me. Not like that. Even if he's pissed at me he wouldn't go that far.'_

“If…” Law began and paused to momentarily consider his next words before fixing Doflamingo with a serious, pleading look, “if I let you stay you’ll have to promise me something, Doffy.”

And said look, devoid of all prior humor and sarcasm, caught Doflamingo off guard and his own smile lost some of his upturned tilt.

“What is it?” He asked. 

“Promise me you’ll be nice. In there...to everyone. To _me._ I need you to behave yourself and not cause any trouble.”

Law didn’t elaborate further in case someone was near or suddenly decided to show up and caught their conversation by accident. Though he figured that Doflamingo knew what he meant. In their line of work -former work in Law’s case- it was common to speak in a way that required the other person to read between the lines.

“I’m always nice,” Doflamingo joked in an attempt to lighten up the tense atmosphere but when Law’s expression didn’t change, his own lost all its remaining humor and a frown took its place. He stepped closer to Law and stroke his knuckles over one of his cheeks. 

“I promise, gorgeous.”

“And you must…”

Law cut himself off and bit his lower lip. What he was about to ask of the other was a lot, for both of them, and even if he had found resolve in his new life, there was no denying the slight sting it inflicted. He was becoming sentimental and had to finish what he wanted to say before he could mull it over too much. 

_‘This is what I want.’_

“Yes?” Doflamingo urged him to continue.

Inhaling a long breath through his nose to steel his resolve, Law lifted his head to look up at the other man again. He saw his own reflection in those shades -remembering with fondness all the times he’d made fun of them in their shared past- and fisted one hand into Doflamingo’s suit jacket. A gentle hold to add weight to his request.

“You must promise me that you’ll let me go. From the Family and from your heart. After this, we will no longer have anything to do with each other. Don’t try to find me, don’t come visit me or contact me through other means. Not just for my sake, but for your own as well. I don’t want our final goodbye to be painful. You didn’t do anything wrong and I will always be grateful to you. This is something I had to do for myself, it’s what I _want_.”

“...”

  
“I think I can truly be happy here and I want you to be happy too so...please understand. I’m not doing this to-”

Doflamingo’s hand that had been stroking his cheek moved to take a gentle hold of the back of his neck and let his fingers play with the fine strands of hair there. 

“You look like you're about to cry,” he said with a look that matched the tenderness of his caress, “you know I can’t handle that.”

“I’m _not_ about to cry…” a halfhearted protest that didn’t sound very convincing to either of them. 

Law was trembling. 

Law had left with the intention of never seeing Doflamingo again but now that he was actually here, holding him and being so understanding and gentle, he felt at ease. Happy, even. Doflamingo and the Family was all he had known for so many years and it would take time to get used to being without them. 

“Listen, gorgeous. This is your choice. If that’s the man you want and if this is the life you want to live, then that’s that. I won’t try to change your mind.” 

“You won’t hate me?”

“Not even if I tried.”

“Then-”

“I promise.”

Law finally smiled again. Not his usual smirk or grin, but a genuine and happy smile. He trailed his hand up from Doflamingo’s jacket to have it come to a rest against his cheek. He hadn’t thought it would mean so much to him to have the man’s blessing. The reason he’d left without saying goodbye properly was due to his fear of Doflamingo’s reaction and his own weakness, but maybe he’d been overthinking it. 

“Thank you.”

Getting up on his tiptoes, Law leaned forward and gave Doflamingo a kiss as a further sign of his gratitude. It was meant to be a short peck on the lips but it became a little more than that when Doflamingo returned it with an insistent pressure that surprised him enough to part his lips and allow the other’s tongue in for a dip. One of Doflamingo’s arms wound itself around his waist and pulled him closer. And Law returned it for a short moment, but not long enough for the kiss to deepen any further. It was all he was willing to give. 

He placed his hands on Doflamingo’s chest and gave it a gentle shove, just to get his point across. 

“Behave yourself, remember?” He warned when they broke apart, a little flustered, and gave Doflamingo a pointed look. 

“Sorry, darling. Old habits die hard and all that.”

“...”

“You know, we’ve all really missed y-”

“Law! The bells are going off anytime now, hurry up! Eustass is starting to worry you bailed on him!”

It was Shachi who interrupted them. He came out from the main entrance and waved Law over with an urgent look, not having the time to dwell on the stranger standing so close to his friend. 

“Y-yeah I’ll be right there!” Law called back and motioned for Doflamingo to follow him.

“So, what am I posing as?”

“My adoptive father. I told Eustass I’m an orphan.”

Doflamingo tensed and looked near scandalized. 

“ _Father_? Come on, I’m not that old.”

“ _Adoptive_ father. I told him I lived in an orphanage until I was 11.”

“Oh? So your relationship isn’t a _complete_ lie then.”

“S-shut up!” Law exclaimed with a blush, “I’m honest about a lot of things.”

“Like your name? That friend of yours called you Law earlier.”

“It's short for Lawrence.”

Law blushed even harder when Doflamingo laughed by his side. Thankfully he didn’t tease him further on that, instead opting for another question. 

“I won’t have to lead you down the aisle, do I?”

“No, we decided to walk down it together, he and I.”

When they got inside, Eustass was pacing back and forth while wringing his hands in obvious distress. But when he caught sight of Law, his whole posture immediately relaxed and with hurried steps he crossed the distance between them and pulled Law in for a hug. 

“Fuck, I was starting to think you’d left.”

Law scoffed against his shoulder. 

“As if I would. I just needed some air.”

“Nervous?”

“Very,” Law replied in all honesty but felt a lot more at ease now than before.

He breathed out a sigh when Eustass briefly nuzzled his hair. 

“Me too. My legs are shaking.”

It was then that Eustass paid attention to the man who Law had come back with. He gave him a quick once over before nodding towards him with his inquiry. 

“Friend of yours?”

Law pulled away from the embrace and gestured towards Doflamingo. 

“Actually, this is my father. Turns out he could make it after all and wanted to surprise me last minute.”

Eustass blinked and looked between the two men before the revelation had fully sunk in. 

“Oh. I’m sorry,” he said and scratched the back of his head awkwardly, “I didn’t mean to be rude or anythin'.”

He walked up to Doflamingo and held his hand out, “it’s nice to finally meet you in person. I’m glad you could make it.”

Doflamingo looked at the offered hand for a moment, a little longer than what common courtesy dictated, before slowly taking it into his own. He gave it a firm shake and allowed his lips to tilt up into a smile. 

“Likewise. I wanted it to be a surprise but there were some hindrances on the way so excuse me for arriving a little late.”

“Not a problem.”

It was then that bells began to toll and the couple was asked to take their positions at the start of the aisle. Eustass let go of Doflamingo’s hand and excused himself. 

“Well, we really gotta get moving so I guess we’ll talk later. I’ll introduce myself properly then,” he said as politely as he could. 

“Looking forward to it…”

Law was a little slower to follow. With a shaky breath he nervously combed his fingers through his hair and looked at Doflamingo for approval. 

“Do I look ok?” He asked, to which Doflamingo smiled softly. 

“ _Gorgeous_.”

Law hesitated only for a second before he took an insistent step forward to give the other man a few final words.

“Doffy, I just want to say I’m-”

Doflamingo silenced him by softly pressing his index finger against his lips. 

“Shhh. None of that now.”

He placed his hands on Law's shoulders, spun him around and urged him forward with a gentle shove.

“Off you go. I’ll be watching from here.”

Law nodded and went to take his position next to Eustass. The two of them shared a loving smile before linking their fingers together and began to walk down the aisle as soon as the music started to play. 

Unbeknownst to Law, the moment he turned his back and went ahead, Doflamingo’s smile dropped and three other men soon entered the church unnoticed and joined his side, all dressed in black and carrying weapons.


	8. Whereabouts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I knew it. I added stuff that I hadn't planned to include in the first place. It just hit me one day when I had my morning coffee like "whoa what's this? Really? I thought we had a plan!" I hadn't planned on writing any more flashback segments but since the final confrontation is coming up next, I guess it can give some more insight to Law's POV...which is basically the only POV in this fic, but still. xD 
> 
> If I decide to write the whole Law vs Doffy in one chapter, then the next one will be the last of the story. But I may divide it into two cause it's getting kinda long. 
> 
> Stay safe and sane! It's certainly needed in these current times! Luckily we have yaoi to help us through it.

_Law was distracted. Ever since he returned from his latest mission a few days ago all he seemed capable of doing was stare off into space and think. That in itself wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, but rather, the thoughts he was **having**. Thoughts someone like him wasn’t supposed to have. Not _ **_allowed_ ** _to have. No matter how you looked at it, the things that currently occupied his mind could only be considered betrayal and went against everything the Family stood for. And Law still wasn’t sure whether someone like him had the right to wish for something different when he owed so much to the people around him, Doflamingo most of all._

_Even now, in the afterglow of the sex he and Doflamingo had just had, he found himself lost in those troublesome thoughts. Their sessions of love-making were always amazing;_ _hot, passionate and sometimes just a tad violent. Even more so if they hadn’t seen each other for a while or making up after a fight. And whether it was insolent backtalk or simply expressing pleasure, Law often tended to be quite vocal. But today his reactions were lacking and despite his efforts couldn't bring himself to enjoy it as much as he usually did. His body certainly had, but his mind had been elsewhere and it was no surprise that Doflamingo took notice of his odd behavior. In fact, he had taken note of that ever since Law’s return from his latest assignment._

_“I think it's about time you tell me what's wrong," Doflamingo said and with a gentle yet firm hold around Law’s chin tilted his head to have a look at his face._

_Law met his hidden stare without shying away even though the idea was a very tempting one. He hoped he would be able to keep his face neutral and with as much feigned ignorance as he could muster, replied with, “what are you talking about?”_

_But of course things weren’t that easy._

_“Don’t play coy with me. You’ve been acting strange lately. What’s on your mind?”_

_“Nothing.”_

_Doflamingo let go of his chin and began to leave a trail of kisses along his throat before nuzzling into his hair._

_“Come on, darling, you know you can tell me anything.”_

_Law fought back the bitter laugh that wanted to leave his mouth upon hearing those words spoken to him so softly. He never lied to Doflamingo directly and there wasn’t much he was purposely hiding from him. Under normal circumstances, he would have shared any troubles he might have without a second thought. But this was a different matter. He couldn’t tell Doflamingo that he was considering leaving him and the Family altogether, or that the last mission had made him realize that he wanted a different life for himself. A life that did not involve killing, power and dirty money. A life in which Law belonged to no one else but himself and based all his decisions on his own will and desires._

_A life without Doflamingo's influence._

_Law loved Doflamingo with all his heart. Or at least as much as someone like him was capable of loving another person. Doflamingo had saved him from that hellhole of a city all those years ago, took him in and gave him a place to belong. And more importantly, gave him a purpose. For many years, and just until recently, Doflamingo had been Law’s entire world. He looked up to him, admired him, and in his younger years even striven to_ **_be_ ** _like him. He would have done anything to make him happy._

_But that’s where the problem laid. Law had realized that admiring someone to such an extent meant to give up one’s own freedom. And Law wanted to know what being free felt like. What it felt like to live for himself and not the sake of others. Perhaps this had been inevitable. At some point he was bound to question himself and the reign of his superiors._

_So, no, definitely not something he could tell Doflamingo._

_“I’m fine,” Law assured him with a tired sigh and tilted his head to the side to allow Doflamingo better access to his neck that he once again had begun to bestow with his attention, “I’m just frustrated at myself for how poorly I executed my last target.”_

_Not a complete lie but certainly not the whole truth. Thankfully it did make Doflamingo a little less persistent in the matter._

_He hummed against the warm skin of Law’s jugular before giving it a light nip._

_“You’re always so hard on yourself. You finished the job and cut all loose ends, didn’t you? That’s enough.”_

_“I suppose…”_

_Doflamingo lifted himself on his elbows, one arm on each side of Law’s head, caging him, and glanced down at him through his sunglasses._

_“Is that really all though? Just a case of performance anxiety?”_

_“Yes.”_

_Doflamingo ran his knuckles over the side of Law's face; a gesture meant both as endearment and a warning._

_“You know I won’t like it if I find out you’re lying to me..." a brief pause during which he admired Law's naked body under him, still hot and sweaty and looking so good against the white sheets. The view inspired a certain amount of possessiveness in him and he decided to add,"...or seek comfort from someone else."_

_Instead of rolling his eyes like his first instinct encouraged him to do, Law returned the stern look with a reassuring smile and as he tried his best to ignore the stab of gut-twisting guilt, he lied for a third time._

_“I’m fine. Or at least, I will be.”_

_And before Doflamingo could dwell on it too long, Law took his face into his hands and pulled him down for a kiss._

_‘I’m sorry.’_

* * *

Law checked the scribble on the piece of paper in his hand one more time before tilting his head up to read the neon sign of dark blue letters. Just to make sure he had made it to the right place. 

_Rain Dinners_

“Finally,” he muttered under his breath and stuffed the note into the pocket of his jeans. 

The bar had been difficult to find; Law spent nearly two hours searching for it as he didn’t have much information to work with, only the name and in what district of the city it was located. As troublesome as it was, he supposed it was to be expected of the person who owned it.

Now that he was certain he had arrived at the correct location, Law didn’t waste any more time and entered the bar where he knew the man he was looking for could be found at this time of the day. 

He had never met Sir Crocodile despite his connection to Doflamingo. He knew of him by reputation, of course, but had never actually seen him in person. But if Doflamingo’s description of his appearance was accurate, Law figured it wouldn't be too difficult to identify him. Simply the knowledge that Crocodile had a hook for a hand was more than enough.

Their relationship seemed complicated from what Law had heard; old friends turned rivals when Crocodile refused to work under Doflamingo and chose to build up his own organisation that he named Baroque Works. It was more of a syndicate that specialized in several different fields, in comparison to the Family that dealt mostly with assassination and weapon dealing. 

Years later when Baroque Words began to grow successful, Doflamingo took an interest in it and suggested they become business partners but even then Crocodile wasn’t too keen to accept. As it stood currently, the two of them had occasional deals and favors between them but nothing official. 

Law didn’t have to search the bar for long to find Crocodile. Despite the dim light and several patrons filling up the tables and booths, the man stood out like a sore thumb. As the owner, he had his own special seat farther up ahead. A spacious booth standing on top of a raised platform with three wooden steps leading up to it. 

Law made his way over without a second thought, fully aware of the cautious looks he was given and the tense silence that had suddenly settled over the whole establishment. 

“You’re Crocodile, right?” 

Without looking his way, eyes settled on the half empty glass of whiskey in his hand, the man replied none too gently with his gruff voice. 

“Get lost, kid. I’m busy.”

He clearly wasn’t. Crocodile was by himself smoking cigars and enjoying his drink with an air of leisure. His reason for rejecting anyone’s approach was rather a question about wanting a moment of peace and quiet to himself. Unfortunately for him, Law wasn't about to grant him that until he got what he wanted from him. 

“I’ll buy you another drink,” Law persisted and took his cap off to run a hand through his hair. 

This time Crocodile made the effort to turn his head and about to scare Law away with his glare, but stilled once he got a better look at him and recognition brightened his otherwise dull eyes. His lips stretched into a slight grin around his cigar and with a humorous scoff he leaned back in his seat. 

“You must be the Trafalgar brat.”

“You know about me,” Law said with a cocked eyebrow, though not as surprised about the fact as his words may imply. The two of them had never met before but he could imagine that Doflamingo had mentioned him at some point, just as Law knew of Crocodile through him.

“Of course I do,” Crocodile said with a roll of his eyes, “that flamingo bastard wouldn’t shut up about you. Was driving me fucking crazy. No offence.”

Law shrugged. 

“None taken.”

A brief silence passed before Law gestured towards the booth.

“So, may I join you for a drink?”

Crocodile shrugged. 

“Go ahead.”

With a quick nod as thanks, Law walked up the final step to the platform and took a seat on the opposite side of the table. He ordered a glass of beer for himself and a refill of whiskey for Crocodile. The two of them studied each other while they waited for their drinks and once the bartender had completed his task and was out of earshot, it was Crocodile who spoke first. 

“Heard you were in a coma.”

“Yeah. For six months.”

Crocodile hummed thoughtfully against the rim of his glass. 

“And what’s that like?”

“Don’t know, really. I’ve heard it differs from person to person. I don’t remember most of it, it was just like a dreamless sleep. The last two weeks were different, though. By that time I was starting to wake up but couldn't move or see anything. Only hear things around me.”

Crocodile chuckled and leaned further back in his seat. 

“Must’ve been one hell of awakening.”

“Took four nurses to hold me down while the doctor sedated me,” Law shrugged, “he got away with a small black eye so it wasn’t too bad. They told me I tended to punch on reflex while I was out.”

“I can believe that. You look like a feisty one.”

He tapped his cigar against the rim of the ashtray before taking another drag. 

“I was actually surprised to hear you survived. He shot you in the head didn’t he? That bastard wouldn’t miss a mark at that distance and he’s not the type to show mercy when he’s pissed, either. He’s killed past lovers for less, you know. I wonder...” he trailed off with a smug grin and reached out for his glass again. He took a sip and kept his eyes on Law’s face over the rim, waiting for a reaction. 

Law knew what he was implying and the thought didn’t sit well with him at all. He sent Crocodile an icy glare and uttered his reply with tone to match. 

“He had every intention to kill me. It was pure luck that I survived, that’s all.”

“Oh? Does the thought of him letting you live upset you?”

“...”

“Or...does it make you hesitant to kill him?”

In a flash Law drew Kikoku out of its scabbard and pointed it at Crocodile. The blade was long enough to reach over the table and the tip stopped just a few centimetres away from the man’s throat. Crocodile remained still and calm, smirk still in place and took his sweet time studying Law’s expression.

Some of his underlings had gotten out of their seats and now stood with their guns pointed at Law. Without breaking eye contact with the younger man, Crocodile waved them off in a silent order to stay down.

“That’s a nice look you got,” he said then, referring to the blood lust glowing in those golden orbs, “no wonder he fell so hard for you. He was always a sucker for pretty eyes.”

Realizing the foolishness of his reaction and embarrassed about the fact that he’d allowed himself to lose his composure, Law lowered his sword and set it aside in its previous position once back in its sheath. His frown didn’t ease up though and he now found himself impatient to get the small talk over with. 

“I didn’t come here to chat with you, actually. Or to drink. I want you to tell me where he is.”

Crocodile’s smug demeanor finally faded and his expression contorted into one of distaste. 

“Tsk. You got bad manners, brat.”

“And you provoked me on purpose.”

A big cloud of smoke rolled out from Crocodile’s mouth when he breathed out a long sigh.

“Certainly didn’t take much. For someone who’s been that guy’s lover for years you’re easily riled up. It’s gonna get you killed when you face him.”

“I can handle his teasing just fine.”

Crocodile didn’t look convinced but said nothing further on the subject. 

“What makes you think I know where he is?”

“I know the two of you keep in contact occasionally and about the deal you made with him recently.”

“There are others who would know his location. People closer to you and your group, yet you took the trouble to come here. This isn’t a place just anyone can waltz into and leave unscarred.”

Law shrugged, though growing impatient with Crocodile’s stalling.

“Vergo wouldn’t tell me.”

“Wouldn’t or couldn’t?”

“Both. If I asked him, he wouldn’t and when I cut him in half he couldn’t.”

To Law’s surprise, Crocodile actually laughed. Not one of those chuckles, but a loud and boisterous laugh. He didn’t think the man was capable of expressing himself on such a level from what he’d seen of his character so far. 

“You may have bad manners, but I kinda like you, kid.”

“...”

Crocodile considered the request just a brief moment longer before announcing his agreement. 

“Fine, I’ll tell you where he is. He may be somewhat of a friend but he’s also screwed me over a couple of times so I’m still kinda pissed. Besides, he would want me to tell you.”

Law lifted a curious brow. 

“Would he?”

“You know that as much as I do.”

Crocodile was right about that. Doflamingo was waiting for Law to show up, but wouldn’t offer him any shortcuts himself. If Law wanted to see him, not to mention kill him, then he’d have to at least make some effort. To prove that he was worthy of an audience with him. 

“He’s a few miles outside of Dressrosa. Got himself a vacation house there a while back, on top of the Sunflower Plateau. You know the place?”

Law nodded. That piece of information was all he needed. 

“I’ll find it.”

Now with his business concluded Law set a few bills down on the table to pay for the drinks and after giving his thanks to Crocodile, took his leave. 


	9. Confrontation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> !!!  
> I.Am. Dead. And these words are my dying message I wrote with my blood...
> 
> !!! Dayum this messy, MONSTROSITY of a chapter has given me such a hard time for so long xD I didn't think it would, but then again, I hate writing final chapters. Never know how to end them properly so I apologize beforehand cause it's gonna be rushed. If I waited too long then it could have taken several more months or longer to post so i'd rather get it out before I lose all motivation. 
> 
> !!!This fight will be a bit over the top and silly, but it was kinda fun to write. 
> 
> !!! Thank you all so much for the support you readers have shown for this fic! Whether it's comments, kudos, bookmarks etc. It means a lot and sure helps to keep the remaining motivation alive <3

A mere fifteen minute drive outside of Dressrosa lay the Sunflower Plateau; a vast flower field on top of a tall cliff just outside the southern border and had long since become a famous landmark. It served both as a popular tourist attraction during summer and early autumn when the flowers were in full bloom, and an area of residence where wealthy people bought vacation houses or permanent homes. From the top, one could see the closest towns within the Dressrosa border up north and to the south was the vast Grand Line sea, which made for a spectacular view. 

The time was nearing eight o’clock in the evening when Law arrived. He’d parked his rental car at the public parking lot at the top of the cliff then walked the rest of the way to the residential area. He’d made it through the security unnoticed and on the other side of the gate there was only one main street that branched off to each side and leading up to the various villas and mansions. 

Needless to say, it hadn’t been difficult for Law to find his intended destination and having known Doflamingo for so long he was able to pinpoint which house that belonged to him rather quickly. 

And when he did find it, Law took the time to have a look at it from the outside. He’d been to many of Doflamingo’s private residences, penthouse apartments and villas alike all across the world, but this newest addition was by far one of the most extravagant. 

A tropical villa with sandy yellow walls, a red terracotta plated roof and white floor-to-ceiling windows. Several wide balconies lined with carved metal railings could be found on either side of the building’s second floor, one of them located above the main entrance. A stone path lined with palm trees on each side, splitting in the middle to curve around a fountain carved out of white marble, lead up to the front door made of stained glass. Said door had been left wide open, lanterns had been lit along the stone path and the lights inside the house were switched on. 

Doflamingo was expecting him. He’d known that Law would defeat Vergo and arrive tonight, and this was his idea of an invitation. Whether he was being underestimated or if it was just another display of Doflamingo’s liking for the dramatic, Law couldn’t quite yet decide. But he knew for sure that it irked him either way. If Doflamingo had the time to set all this up with such confidence, then he was taking this a lot less seriously despite Law’s previous accomplishments on his way to him. 

Oh well, that could be an advantage too. Law wasn’t planning on holding back and Doflamingo was sure to regret it if he was in fact underestimating him. 

Taking a deep breath, Law chose to accept said invitation, not getting in through the backdoor with the approach of stealth. This was his final battle and he would show the other that he was not afraid to face him head on. 

With Kikoku strapped to his back and a gun held tightly in his hands Law approached the house. When he reached the door he stopped momentarily before entering and now that he was closer he could hear music playing inside the house. A slow instrumental track of the Dressrosian genre*.

Law lifted his hands to hold the gun out in front of himself and as he made his way through the house he checked every room he passed and listened closely for any sound that may alert him of his target’s presence. Though the music certainly made that more difficult, even if it was played at a lower volume that enabled conversation.

It was when he came into the living room that he caught sight of him, and he came to an abrupt halt with his hands tightening around the handle of the gun. 

There, on one of the lavish couches Doflamingo sat with his back against Law and his arms spread wide across the backrest. 

Despite Law’s quiet, swift steps Doflamingo had noticed him the exact moment he came into the room and when he suddenly spoke up, Law involuntarily flinched. 

“Put that thing away, darling,” he said without turning back to look at him. He simply remained seated without any changes to his relaxed posture, knowing that his demand would be met. 

Law didn’t oblige right away though. He kept the gun aimed at the back of Doflamingo's head and for one foolish moment considered the chance of actually putting an end to things right then and there. To put a bullet through his skull like Doflamingo had planned to do to him on that day. 

If he pulled the trigger there was a probability, no matter how slim, that he managed to hit his target. But if he missed, Doflamingo wouldn’t take kindly to the gesture and any civil interaction before the fight would then be out of the question. He would come at Law without mercy and aim for a quick, instant kill. 

He stayed like that for a little while, seemingly rooted to the spot, and his hands quivered around the handle as he considered the possible outcomes, but then Doflamingo’s next words snapped him out of it. 

“That’s not how you want to end this, isn’t that right?”

He was right. Law wouldn't be satisfied with such a petty victory after all the effort it had taken him to get here. He wanted to cause Doflamingo some pain before ending his life. Preferably with Kikoku through his heart.

Slowly he lowered the gun but didn’t put it away completely. It would be downright foolish to lower his guard and trust Doflamingo fully after everything he had done. 

“Come sit down and let’s have a chat first. I’ve prepared some wine.”

When he took too long to reply, he heard Doflamingo sigh with a clear hint of annoyance. 

“You know very well I could have killed you already if I wanted you dead right away. You’ll get your fight soon enough, but we both have questions we want answered before that.”

It was enough to sway Law into approaching. He had a pretty good idea of what kind of questions Doflamingo had for him and as unpleasant as it would no doubt be to answer them, Law had no choice if he wanted the gesture to be returned. 

_ ‘Does the thought of him letting you live upset you? Or...does it make you hesitant to kill him?’ _

He had denied those inquiries to Crocodile but there was truth to be found in them. Law needed to hear it from Doflamingo himself, to have him confirm that his sole intention had been to kill him and had left him to die while the church burned down. Then Law would be able to proceed with his vendetta with no amount of doubt and hesitation. 

Law put the gun back into the holster of his belt and without taking his eyes off the other man went around the sofa table to stand by the couch on the opposite side, facing Doflamingo who didn’t waste any time in sizing him up and paying close attention to what he was wearing.

A white, hooded coat left undone to reveal his tattooed chest, a pair of white jeans, brown combat boots and his white cap* with dark brown spots. The choice of color of his attire was very much intentional.

In contrast to Law, Doflamingo donned a black dress shirt that he’d left unbuttoned at the front. The same could be said about the sleeves, the hems unbuttoned and embroidered with pink skulls. His pants were a lot more colorful though, and rather distasteful in Law’s mind despite being fully aware of the man’s fashion sense; a pair of white-and-pink-striped pants with an orange belt to hold them up. He was of course wearing his usual rose-tinted sunglasses but his pink feather coat was hanging off the armrest to his right, the bottom-most feathers nearly touching the floor.

“Well,” Doflamingo said after his examination and rested his cheek against the top of his closed hand, “this sure brings back memories. You’re as gorgeous as ever. However...you- ”

“I look better in black, I know.”

Law’s lips lifted into a humorless, spiteful smile. 

“Why do you think I chose to wear white in the first place?”

“Ah of course. You always did get a kick out of rebelling against my wishes. Didn’t end well for you last time though, did it?”   
  


Law shrugged. 

“I got through it alright, as you see. Besides, all the blood I plan to make you spill will be easier to see like this.”

Doflamingo’s smile stretched wider. In his mind, such a remark could very well be a declaration of love just as much as a threat. Especially if said remark came from his precious little bird. 

“So will yours, darling.”

With an indifferent scoff, Law took off his cap and sat down on the couch on the other side of the table. He put Kikoku down next to himself before leaning back fully and crossed his arms, not at all interested in the filled glass of wine meant for him. 

He could tell that Doflamingo was paying close attention to the sword, evaluating it by studying the scabbard’s length and width, then the handle and handguard. Soon enough he would get a very close view of the blade itself. Feel just how sharp it was when Law drew it from its sheath and cut him. 

“So that’s the new katana I’ve heard so much about.”

“Yes.”

“I suppose it didn’t take much to sway Kin’emon into making it for you.”

Law’s mouth tilted up into a small smirk. One that contained some humor this time. 

“I only had to say your name. After that, he could tell what I wanted it for.”

Doflamingo hummed a sound of understanding. He could imagine the look on Law’s face when mentioning him to Kin’emon. No doubt had it been more than enough to convey his desires. 

“And how is our friend doing? Enjoying his retirement?”

As ridiculous as it was, Law chose not to comment on the fact that Doflamingo had referred to the old swordsmith as a friend and replied with a shrug of his shoulders, “As far as I can tell.”

“Did you try his ramen?”

“I did.”

Following that answer came a slight grimace that Law hadn't meant to make, but the memory of his first bowl of Kin’emon’s ramen left a bad taste in his mouth. Quite literally. And upon seeing the expression, Doflamingo chuckled.

“He hasn’t improved much then, I take it.”

“Well, if he was even worse before I wouldn’t know.”

If that was the case, Law supposed he should consider himself lucky. 

“Nice place you got here, by the way,” he commented casually and emphasized his point with a gesture of his hand. 

Doflamingo looked rather pleased with the compliment. 

“Isn’t it? I know it’s not as grand as the Dressrosa base, but I wanted something a little more private and cozy. I’ve grown tired of that dusty old mansion.”

It was such a shame the two of them wouldn’t get the chance to enjoy his new investment together. 

And it was with that thought in mind that Doflamingo decided to get to the matter at hand. He knew Law wasn’t too fond of smalltalk and was likely to grow impatient soon. And while Doflamingo would’ve loved to have a long, civil chat with his darling -and scold him on several matters such as the obvious weight loss- there were a few things they had to sort out before getting down to their bloody business. 

“Since you’ve done such a fine job and made it all the way here just to see me, I’ll let you start, gorgeous,” he offered and picked up his glass of wine before leaning back into his previous position. 

Law shifted in his seat and tension once again stiffened his posture. He studied the man in front of him for an additional moment, searching for anything that may indicate what he was feeling about the whole affair, but considered it a useless effort as Doflamingo remained relaxed and unbothered. 

“Crocodile knew about my coma,” he began and narrowed his eyes into a meaningful look,“in fact, he seems to know about  _ everything _ .”

Doflamingo watched the wine slosh in his glass as he gave it a few swirls, humming out a curious sound to the information he was told. 

“So it  _ was  _ him you decided to go to. Good thing he prefers women or I would’ve been really jealous; he and I have similar taste when it comes to pretty faces, you see.”

He opted for a small sip of his drink, taking his time to evaluate the taste as a means to tease Law whose impatience was becoming more and more visible on his face. 

“Yes, he knows about the whole affair because I told him about it,” he then finally added and set his glass back down on the table. And Law took that as his cue to continue. 

“He told me he was surprised that I survived in the first place because you wouldn’t miss at such a short distance  _ or _ spare the life of anyone you consider a traitor.”

  
“...”

“And knowing you so well, I agree with him. Ever since I woke up I’ve been wondering...”

Law left the question lingering in the air for a short while, a half hearted attempt at provocation, but Doflamingo’s demeanor remained unchanged. And so, the question was asked at last. 

“Did you miss on purpose? The doctor said it was a miracle I survived, but if you really meant to shoot me, then not even  _ that  _ would be able to save me.”

Instead of giving Law a straightforward answer, Doflamingo chose to counter with a question of his own. One that caught Law off guard.

“Do you know how many times you’ve said ‘I love you’ to me in total?”

Law shrugged. 

“Two and a half.”

Before Law could interrupt like he so obviously wished to do, Doflamingo was quick to elaborate. 

“It took you a whole year to say it the first time, which, by the way, I almost didn’t catch because you were muttering it into your pillow and refused to repeat yourself when I asked you to. The second time was on that  _ fucking  _ note years later. And the last time, though you didn’t get to finish and therefore only counting as a half, I was aiming a gun at your head, just about to blow your brains out. Is  _ that _ what it takes to make you say it?”

“You know I’ve never been good at expressing myself with things like that. Besides, I didn’t think I  _ needed _ to say it. We both prefer to speak with our actions, after all, so I assumed you understood how I felt about you.”

“Then why did you decide to say it  _ then _ , when I was just about to pull the trigger? Did you hope I would have a change of heart and spare you? That I would forgive you if you acted all sweet and helpless?”

Law shrugged, the motion not as nonchalant as he’d hoped. Instead, the gesture came off as forced and the tension in his shoulders were obvious. 

“No. At that point I had accepted my death and knew that any resistance was useless. I just wanted you to hear it before I died. I’m not sure why, but I  _ needed  _ you to hear it.”

Under different circumstances, Doflamingo would have been pleased about that. But right now he couldn’t feel anything of the sort. He still remembered the moment with full clarity; the look on Law’s face, the  _ way _ he looked at Doflamingo with those pretty eyes, how his lips trembled as he struggled to get the words out. Thinking about it irritated him. 

“Tch. Saying that just before I’m about to kill you,  _ looking _ at me like that...when you could never say it to my face during all those years.”

Law kept his face neutral and leaned forward the slightest bit. 

“So…?” he drawled expectantly and raised a brow, waiting for the conclusion. 

“It caught me off guard and my hand wavered a little. I didn’t think it was enough to actually affect my aim, though. I had every intention to kill you and at first I thought you were dead.”

For Law, that was a relieving thing to hear. Ridiculous as the explanation was, knowing that Doflamingo didn’t let him live on purpose, his miss just being a fluke, made everything so much easier. He wouldn’t have to worry about bothersome insecurities and doubts to keep him wondering and could deliver the final blow without regret when the time came. 

“I thought so. And that brings us to your motivation behind the whole thing.”

“Killing you and that herd of sheep? I think you know the answer to that already.”

Law fixed Doflamingo with a firm stare.

“I want you to say it.”

Doflamingo sighed but obliged nonetheless. 

“Very well, gorgeous. It’s quite simple really.”

“...”

“You made me angry, no...you  _ pissed me off.  _ In fact, I don’t think anyone has ever managed to enrage me as much as you did.”

Law remained silent. 

“You never came back from that mission at Sabaody. You left me without any explanation, not even a single fuckin’ word to my face and with no means to contact you.”

“I-”

“Instead you send me that pathetic note, not a letter, but a fucking _note_ with _four_ sentences that took a whole month after your departure to get delivered to me. I spent that month worrying sick about you and when I heard that the target was still alive but nothing about your situation, I thought you’d been killed off. I mourned you. I was ready to prepare your funeral and slaughter those assholes I thought had taken you from me. Heck, I don’t think destroying the whole _world_ would have made me feel any better.”

A few veins popped in Doflamingo’s forehead and during a short pause in his speech he clenched his teeth hard. He looked ready to leap forward to strangle Law with the way his hands twitched at his sides. Anyone who knew him would find his self restraint commendable, Law included. 

“But then I receive that note…”

_ Doffy. _

_ I’m leaving the Family. Please don’t look for me. Thank you for everything.  _

_ I love you.  _

_ Law. _

“Not only do I learn that you’re alive, but when I finally find you, you’re about to get _ married _ to some redheaded idiot who you like to cook  _ cabbage rolls  _ for.”

Law lifted a curious brow. 

“You seem quite stuck on the redhead part.”

  
“Shut up. His hair was fucking ridiculous and you know it.”

“I loved him. I wanted to have a happy, normal life with him and the friends I had made and you took all of it away from me like it was nothing. And you couldn’t be satisfied with just killing me, no, you  _ had _ to make a big spectacle out of it. Like you do with everything else.”

The accusation didn’t seem to affect Doflamingo in any way. No trace of guilt or remorse, only a scoff and a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders. 

“It was the punishment you deserved. Besides, you’re not suited for that kind of life. It wouldn’t have made you happy in the long run.”

Law gritted his teeth, quietly seething before bursting out in a fit of anger. 

“That’s not for you to decide! You had no right!”

And Doflamingo replied with the same intensity.

“I had every right! As a part of the Family your life belongs to  _ me _ . Anyone who wishes to leave needs my approval, you  _ know  _ that. Breaking that rule makes you a traitor.”

“It wasn’t  _ meant  _ as betrayal. Not intentionally.”

“Hmph. What you intended it to be doesn’t matter. Did you seriously think that note would be enough? That I would just accept it and forget about you?”

“I knew you’d be upset. I wasn’t going to send you that note in the first place, just disappear quietly and cover my tracks. I  _ wish _ you would have lived on believing me to be dead. But I felt like I owed it to you; it was the right thing to do. I know I should have explained properly, but I couldn’t tell you in person.”

“Why not?”

“If I went to you personally and asked to resign you would have wanted me to stay. You would have tried to sway me into it like you always do. And  _ I…” _

Law bit his lower lip and breathed out a long sigh through his nose. When Doflamingo grew impatient and urged him to continue, it was with a tone of defeat that he told the truth he had much rather liked to keep to himself. Admitting the reason was the same as admitting his own weakness. 

“And I wouldn’t have been able to deny you.”

“Of course not,” Doflamingo scoffed, as if what Law had just told him was the most obvious thing in the world, ”If I gave you the order to stay-”

“No,” Law interrupted with a firm shake of his head, “Not because you would have ordered me to, but because I would have wanted to make you happy. Back then I would have done anything for you. Even towards the end.”

“And yet you left me.”

“Yes.”

“Why? No bullshit now, just give it to me straight.”

“You saved me from that hellhole all those years ago and you took me in. You gave me what I wanted at the time; you made me strong and I became someone useful. Someone of worth. And for all those years I was happy with you and the Family, happy to have such power. But hating the world and being angry at everything in it is tiring.  _ Suffocating. _ At one point I’d just had enough. Killing people couldn’t fill that void anymore. Neither could you or the rest of the Family.”

“Just like that? After all those years you decided to quit and give everything up for such a half- assed reason? You never cared about bullshit things like that.  _ You _ , my darling, are a killer. It’s what you were always meant to be.”

The way Doflamingo reacted to his explanation didn’t surprise Law the slightest. Of course he couldn’t understand. It hadn’t even made sense to himself when the first seed of doubt began to take root and he’d tried hard to eliminate it before it grew into something he wouldn’t be able to escape from. But Law was only human, and as such found the forbidden thoughts exciting to explore. The more he imagined the things he didn’t have, the more he wanted them.

“Do you remember the second last mission you sent me on? Before Sabaody?”

“Diez Barrels. Of course I remember him. You started to act strange when you returned.”

And now he was starting to understand why. 

“His son was with him. Just a little kid, about 10 or so. Maybe younger. He’d been hiding in a corner and watched as I cut his father’s head off. I hadn’t noticed him at all during that time but when I did and looked at him I was reminded of myself on the day I saw my own parents get killed.”

Law paused briefly to breathe out a sigh through his nose. This stuff wasn’t easy to talk about. 

“I let him go and I spent the rest of the night just wondering about how many kids’ lives were fucked up because of me. How many parents, siblings and friends I’ve killed. How many of my own fucked up self I’ve created. Some of those kids will grow up to be just like me, seeing nothing else but hatred, anger and destruction. I had you and the Family to help me cope, but not everyone is that fortunate.”

“But we weren’t  _ enough _ for you? Did your little epiphany also tell you that you didn’t love us... _ me,  _ anymore? Or perhaps your love for me wasn’t very strong to begin with.”

“No. I really loved you. Even after I left and hoped to never see you again, I knew that would never change. But you wouldn’t be able to give me what I truly wanted or needed.”

“And what  _ did  _ you want?” Doflamingo asked impatiently. He was getting tired of this conversation. 

“Change. To be free. I wanted to become my own person, someone capable of more than just killing and destruction. As much as I know you love me, to you I am just as much of your possession as your lover. An asset for you to utilize whenever and however you want. No matter how much affection you hold for me and no matter how strong I become, you will never truly see me as your equal.”

Law decided then that he would offer no more explanation than that. He considered himself done and it was up to Doflamingo whether he believed him or not. 

Believe and accept are two different things, though, and even with a better understanding Doflamingo was by no means satisfied. In fact, he was very much disappointed. 

“So that’s it then,” he muttered, his voice betraying just  _ how  _ disappointed he was,“the little bird wanted to leave the nest and be free.” 

Law shrugged. 

“Pretty much. And it made you angry and jealous so you tried to kill me. You couldn’t stand that you were no longer the center of my world.”

“Tsk. Don’t say it like that.”

“But it’s true.”

“You know me, you know what I am, what I’m _like._ Surely my actions couldn't have been that surprising to you. What did you expect me to do?”

“I expected you to keep what you promised me.”

“I did-”

“You  _ knew _ what I meant back then!” Law snapped, “You purposely twisted my words to suit your own interpretation! You made me think I could trust you! I knew you’d be angry with me and I had considered the possibility of you seeking me out for a confrontation...”

He paused briefly to swallow down the lump that had begun to form in his throat. No amount of preparation for this conversation could prevent the painful sting of Doflamingo’s betrayal. 

“...but I didn’t think you would, no,  _ could _ do  _ that  _ to me. To anyone else, sure, but not me. I thought my happiness held more value to you.”

“I’m sorry, darling,” Doflamingo said, almost sympathetically, ”but you thought wrong. When you make a man like me jealous and break his heart, there will be consequences. Even for someone as precious as you.”

Now that he had heard everything he needed to hear, Law uncrossed his arms and shifted out of his comfortable position. He took the sheathed Kikoku into one of his hands and firmly planted the blunt end of the scabbard on the floor with a loud click. 

“I think we’re done talking,” he said meaningfully and fixed Doflamingo with a cold, murderous glare. He hadn’t expected to get a good explanation or an apology, but neither had he expected the lack thereof to frustrate him so much. Those were the answers he wanted, weren’t they? Strange, then, that he felt no satisfaction. The previous relief had all but withered away and now he was starting to feel the suppressed anger getting ever closer to its boiling point. It was only a matter of time before he acted on it and did something foolish. 

Doflamingo tilted his head with a small grin. 

“Are we? You haven’t touched your wine.”

When he received no response whatsoever, Doflamingo sighed with exaggerated disappointment. 

“So,” he began and studied the black scabbard and fur-rimmed hand guard of Law’s sword, “I guess the idea is that the two of us duke it out right here with our Kin’emon swords in a fight to the death?”

Law nodded.

“Yeah, that’s about it.”

“You know I prefer hand-to-hand combat.”

Law scoffed, not about to let himself be swayed into that just yet. 

“Don’t try to slither your way out of it. I think a swordfight is the least you can do for me.”

His eyes lowered to Doflamingo’s left side where Mariejois lay sheathed; Doflamingo’s katana that Kin’emon had smithed for him long ago before the two of them had a falling out. It looked just like Law remembered; a white scabbard engraved with Doflamingo’s symbol with black outlines, a white, floral patterned handguard and the handle bound in that bright pink fabric. 

“Besides,” he then said after his brief examination and returned his gaze to the man’s face, “you brought yours with you for that very reason.”

“You’re right, gorgeous. I’ll let you play with your new toy for a bit. But I can’t promise I won’t be using other means to fight you later on.”

If they were to engage in a fight to the death, then Doflamingo wanted it to be more intimate rather than keeping a distance by the length of their blades. He wanted to  _ feel _ Law as the two of them tore each other apart and spilled one another’s blood. And he suspected that his darling had some...  _ frustration  _ that he needed to get out of his system before killing him and simply waving around with a metal stick wouldn’t be able to satisfy that need by any means. 

“Though before we start, I have a proposition I would like to make. Well, two actually, but they go hand in hand.”

“...”

“This plateau borders the sea to the south. I’m sure you caught a glimpse of it on your way here.”

Law shrugged. 

“I did.”

“The view of it from the field just ahead is particularly beautiful at sunrise and the flowers are still in full bloom; I think it would make for a lovely battlefield, wouldn’t you say?”

“You want us to fight there at dawn. And how does that tie into your second proposition?”

Though Law had his suspicions. Even more so when Doflamingo’s grin turned a little more suggestive. 

  
“Since one of us is going to die anyway I was hoping we could spend one last night together, for old times sake.”

_ How typical.  _

“You really have no shame. Do you seriously expect me to sleep with you now, after everything you did?”

Doflamingo merely shrugged. As if his suggestion wasn’t at all scandalous. 

“I see no reason why not. Personally, I think it would be beautiful considering we both have so much pent up frustration to get rid of. We’ve had hate sex before.”

“You’re talking about make up sex. That’s different. I never had a reason to really hate you back then.”

“Well, maybe I can make it good enough for you to forgive me and none of us has to die. Believe it or not, I’m not as keen on killing you as I was before. I’ve had time to cool down and I’d be willing to forgive you if you just apologized. What do you say? I’ll give it to you just the way you like it."   
  


Doflamingo’s hand crept over the couch towards Mariejois while he spoke, already knowing that his offer would be refused. It was a slow and subtle movement performed during the distraction of conversation, but Law was observant enough to notice and quickly took action. When Mariejois was pulled out of its white scabbard in one fluid draw and swung in a sideway slash aimed at Law’s neck, Law lifted Kikoku and freed it just enough to block; a few centimetres of its blade protecting him while the rest of it was still inside the scabbard.

The pressure of Mariejois eased up and Law immediately threw himself off the couch and distanced himself from Doflamingo with several backwards strides across the room. He didn’t take his eyes off him as he did so, watching Doflamingo slowly standing from his own seat and followed him to the center of the room free from any clutter. 

He came to a stop a few meters ahead of Law with Mariejois held in his right hand and looking as smug as ever. 

Law gave him a scolding look that was enough to convey his displeasure about the dirty stunt the older man just pulled on him. 

Doflamingo chuckled, finding the look utterly adorable on that pretty face. 

“Don’t be upset, darling. I just wanted to test your reflexes.”

Law slowly drew his katana from its scabbard, fully this time, and the violet hue of the blade glinted in the dim light. 

Just as the scabbard dropped to the floor, a new song began playing. It was still that same Dressrosian style but with a faster and more passionate beat fit for a lover’s quarrel just like theirs. 

Law didn’t know if he wanted to laugh or roll his eyes at the ridiculous timing. 

Slowly they began circling around each other like two predators ready to pounce, with Doflamingo still wearing his usual grin and Law contrasting it with a scowl. As they stared each other down, Doflamingo felt himself shiver with anticipation and excitement at the unmistakable bloodlust that shone through Law’s eyes; wide and focused, the pinprick-sized pupils nearly swallowed up by the shining yellow irises. It reminded him of the first time they met all those years ago when Law wanted nothing more than to destroy whatever he could get his hands on. 

But it wasn’t just the eyes. 

Everything about him, his posture and stance, the way his hands twitched around the handle of his sword, the aura that surrounded him; Law was ready to kill and had forsaken any regard for his own life. It was the look of someone ready to die for their goal. Someone with nothing to lose. 

Feral and eager, yet calm and composed and Doflamingo was  _ so _ proud of him...and admittedly a little aroused. 

Law was beautiful like this. 

_ This  _ was his true self. 

Without a word they kicked off the floor at the same time and met in the middle by the clash of their blades. The sudden metal against metal produced a loud clang that rose above the music playing in the background and then faded out in a long trail of that singing noise common to pure Wano steel.

Their first strike was only them testing the waters, assessing and evaluating each other’s strength and potential weak points. They maintained eye contact, sparks beginning to fly around them from the heat produced by the grinding of their blades as both tried to gain leverage over the other. 

Doflamingo used his height and superior physical strength to his advantage and pressed forward a little harder, forcing Law to slide a few inches backwards on his feet despite his resistance. Mariejois came closer to Law’s face, close enough that he could see the clear reflection of his own eyes in the pale, shiny steel. 

Gritting his teeth, Law maneuvered his hands on the hilt to change the angle of his blade and successfully broke the contact by pushing Mariejois to the side. Then without giving his opponent any time to block he thrust Kikoku forward in an attempt to pierce Doflamingo’s chest but missed his target as the other side stepped out of the way. He had expected as much; Doflamingo was a veteran fighter in most fields, after all. 

Their blades clashed again when Law followed Doflamingo’s retreating form with a sideway slash but unlike before, the contact of steel was brief, as were the several following ones as their wielders went at each other with one strike after another while moving across the lavish room and tearing it apart little by little. Their katanas sliced through fabrics and wood, ceramics, glass and even metal. But not yet the skin of their intended targets. 

While Doflamingo, as he had stated himself earlier, preferred hand-to-hand combat, Law had always favored bladed weapons and practiced more with them than with his fists. This became clear soon enough when he managed to stay on the offensive for a long time and leaving Doflamingo no other choice than to keep on defending himself _.  _ And it was with a smug satisfaction that he acknowledged the fact that Doflamingo’s struggle was not an act made to entertain himself, but that he was in fact fighting Law seriously.

He better be, Law thought, as he was going at him at full strength and fully intent on cutting him down. Any misstep on Doflamingo’s part would be the end of him. 

Law ducked out of the way of another swing, lowered himself and shot Kikoku out with a swift stab. The blade grazed over Mariejois briefly before sliding off and tearing through the sleeve of Doflamingo’s dress shirt as it inflicted a shallow cut into his forearm. A thin red line just deep enough to make him bleed a few drops. 

Their fight was put on a brief pause during which Doflamingo lifted his arm for a closer inspection while Law revelled in the fact that he had been the one to draw first blood. 

Doflamingo seemed rather pleased about that fact too, if the widening of his grin was anything to go by. He gave out a chuckle as he lowered his arm. 

“You truly are a magnificent swordsman. It’s no wonder even Diamante lost.”

Law accepted the praise with a cocky smirk and shrugged.

“Oh he knew that too. When he realized he wouldn’t be able to beat me with his sword he tried to shoot me.”

“ _T_ _ ried _ .”

“Yeah. Dishonorable piece of shit. But I gave him the punishment he deserved.”

Doflamingo’s tongue lolled out to swipe over his lips, recalling the report of his darling’s carnage against the former executive. 

“I know. I’m  _ so _ proud of you, gorgeous.”

“Of course you are.”

“I bet you looked beautiful when you harvested all those hearts.”

“If you mean drenched in blood, then yes.”

“That is  _ exactly _ what I mean.”

Doflamingo studied Kikoku as Law shifted on his feet into an offensive stance, causing it to gleam with that hauntingly beautiful violet hue again. 

“That thing is damn sharp. It barely touched my skin yet tore through it so easily.”

“Only the best for you,  _ Doffy _ .”

Though despite all the praises he was dishing out, Doflamingo wasn’t as pleased as he made himself out to be. That katana was a dangerous thing, especially in Law’s capable hands. If this went on for much longer he may actually be killed before they could get the chance to engage in the more intimate combat he craved. 

_ ‘How troublesome,’  _ he thought to himself as he studied the unwavering form of his darling. All confidence and calm but not without a touch of arrogance. And that just wouldn’t do; he couldn't allow Law to get too cocky this early in the game. They were by no means done here. 

That sword had to go. 

Carelessly throwing Mariejois to the side as if it  _ wasn’t  _ a rare and priceless artifact, he shot forward and was not at all surprised that Law’s honed reflexes made him react instantly. 

Kikoku came towards him and just before it could pierce him, Doflamingo twisted his upper body to the side and slammed a Haki-infused fist against Law’s hands, successfully disarming him. The katana slipped out of Law’s grasp and clattered loudly when it hit the floor. 

It all happened in a fraction of a second but Law didn't take the time to dwell on his loss of Kikoku, nor did he make any attempts to retrieve it as he’d known from the start that Doflamingo’s aim had been to disarm him of it. This was what the man wanted; close up hand-to-hand combat. An intimate, touchy-feely fight where they would be able to feel each other’s pain and damage beneath their fingers. Law was fine with that; as much as he wanted to stab Doflamingo through the heart with his new sword, he was eager to get a few hits in and stain himself with the bastard’s blood first. 

He got into position, taking the stance of his preferred martial art, and watched with an intense focus as Doflamingo did the same.

Law was able to recognize it immediately; the Crane but with Doflamingo’s own, self-invented twist to it that involved more of his legs. The man did like to kick, that’s for sure. 

But Law was not about to let himself be outdone in hand-to-hand combat either. He’d prove to Doflamingo that he was just as capable without his katana. So not wasting any time, he moved first. In one swift move he launched forward and thrusted one palm forward aimed for Doflamingo’s face. His mouth parted into a teeth-revealing grin upon feeling his nails grazing their target’s skin. While Dofalmingo had managed to escape some serious damage to his face, there were now two parallel scratches on his right cheek. Both had broken skin and each leaking with a thin rivulet of blood. Another edition to go with the cut on his forearm. 

Keeping his eyes on Law, smile now gone, Doflamingo raised his hand to his injured cheek and touched the two scratches with the tips of his fingers.

“The Jaguar Palm Style, huh. Your favorite, if I’m not mistaken.”

Law’s grin widened. He was rather pleased to successfully land a hit so early on and even more so at making Doflamingo bleed a second time while he himself had not yet received so much as a scratch. He hadn’t inflicted as much damage as he would’ve liked, but he was up to a good start and the night was still young. 

“It has sentimental value,” Law replied with a shrug, ”it’s the one I used when I laid my first hit on Sengoku. You can imagine he wasn’t too happy about that, as the Jaguar Palm is his least favorite out of the ones he taught me.” 

Doflamingo chuckled. 

“I see. Then it’s no wonder you like it so much, you spiteful little shit.”

Doflamingo wiped the two trails of blood off with the pad of his thumb and casually licked it clean before adding, “well, darling, I’m happy you’ve mastered it so well. Now allow me to return the favor. I believe I now owe you two hits.”

The last sentence had barely left his mouth before he kicked off the floor and came at Law with his hooked, talon-like fingers. Law parried the two first strikes, which he then came to realize had only been meant to distract him from the kick that sent him flying across the room after connecting with his chest. 

“Ugh!” He groaned through his clenched teeth upon the impact and rolled several turns over the floor before crashing into the adjacent wall on the other side. 

His head spun and the impact left him somewhat breathless but he wasn’t given any time to recover; through his blurred vision he could see Doflamingo coming at him with another attack and threw himself to the side to dodge it. 

Doflamingo’s foot made a dent into the wall when it made contact and had Law not been quick enough, the damage would have been fatal.

He stumbled on his feet while trying to widen the distance between them, but it proved to be a difficult task while in the midst of recovering from that first blow. It had made him significantly slower than his opponent and after just managing to dodge a few attacks, Law was grabbed by the front of his coat and thrown down onto the wooden sofa table between the couches as if he weighed nothing at all.

As soon as he landed on his back Law quickly rolled off, just in time to dodge Doflamingo’s Haki-infused leg crashing down like a guillotine. The table was cracked in half and wooden splinters of all sizes were sent flying everywhere. 

After getting up on his feet Law focused Haki into his arms and blocked another kick coming his way by crossing them in front of himself. 

“I’m impressed,” Doflamingo praised while keeping up the pressure of his foot, “even after all that time in a coma you’re fighting as if it never happened. In fact, I’d say you’ve even gotten a little quicker.”

“I had some time for rehab and training in Wano before coming after you guys,” Law said now that they were both standing still and thus giving him some time to catch his breath. 

He launched forward with an attack of his own and while the two of them exchanged a series of blows, fists against fists and kicks against kicks, he added with a near crazed grin, “but it’s mostly instinct. My body knows just how much I want to kill you.” 

He punctuated his words with a swift Haki Jaguar palm to Doflamingo’s side, making the older man grit his teeth to hold in the pain it caused him. Instead, Doflamingo’s smirk grew and he took a few steps back to look Law in the eyes again. 

“Oh darling. Don’t say such things now. I’ll get distracted.”

Law scoffed. 

“And I will take full advantage of that. Let up for a second and you’ll die.”

Doflamingo’s smirk shrunk just the tiniest bit. His previous offer about the two of them sharing his bed for the night had been made in all seriousness and with Law making these sweet threats it made him want it even more. Their love making had always been on the rougher side. 

“I’m serious. You must stop with this bedroom talk.”

Ignoring the jab, Law went for another attack but this time it was blocked. With their arms grinding against each other and their eyes still connected through that intense, mutual stare, Law tilted his head ever so slightly with a sweet smile that contradicted his next choice of words. 

“So you’re saying I can kill you just by talking dirty? Shouldn’t have bothered with the katana, then.”

Doflamingo snatched hold of Law’s wrist and pulled him forward, then slammed his knee up into Law’s gut. 

“Ghh!”

His other wrist was grabbed as well and Doflamingo pushed him against the nearby wall, keeping him pinned against it while towering over him. 

“You’re getting a little too ahead of yourself, gorgeous. I’m still very much alive.”

Law responded with a defiant glare and tested the pressure with a wiggle but Doflamingo didn’t budge.

“Heh,” he chuckled through a series of ragged breaths, “you’ve taken some damage though.”

“Indeed. And oh how good it aches,” Doflamingo all but purred while nosing at Law’s neck,” You know, the only times I’ve ever considered myself masochistic are when you’ve injured me. In combat  _ and  _ in bed.”

Law scoffed. 

“When it comes to you and me, those two are usually the same.”

“I suppose you’re right…”

An intense beat of silence in which Doflamingo slowly leaned his face closer to Law’s and the latter showed no intention to stop him...

...and then Doflamingo suddenly kissed him. He simply could not resist, not with Law’s bloodied lips so close to his and looking so damn kissable. And the moment they made contact, Doflamingo’s eyes fell shut as he was reminded of all their past kisses and how much he had missed the way Law’s lips felt and tasted against his own. 

Law’s eyes, however, remained open and narrowed into a glare. He kept his lips shut even when Doflamingo made an attempt at prying them apart with a gentle push of his tongue. When the craved access was denied he became more insistent and forced his way in with little trouble.

If Law was to describe Doflamingo’s tongue with one word, it would be “Serpentine”. Long, slithering and dominating. Heck, there were times when he genuinely thought it had a mind of its own with the way it moved and strangled all of Law’s futile resistance. In their shared past  _ and _ now. 

_ Some things never change. _

He bit down on Doflamingo’s bottom lip hard, smirking against it when he felt the heat of the man’s blood pooling into his own mouth. The bite was sudden and painful enough for Doflamingo to retreat. He was frowning at first and looked down his nose at Law and his smug, pretty face.

One of his hands shot out and grabbed Law by the throat in a gesture of warning. 

In response to that, Law tilted his head up and stuck his tongue out, lapping up the blood from Doflamingo’s lip. He made a show out of it and licked his own lips as if savoring the taste.

“What’s wrong,  _ old man _ ?,” he goaded, “can’t handle it? It’s only been, what, a little over a year?”

He’d let Doflamingo think he wanted it too and once he had him distracted, he would commence his counter attack. He didn’t see a reason why he shouldn’t play dirty if Doflamingo was going to. Besides, he was going to kill the bastard anyway so he might as well get a last taste of him and enjoy it. 

So when the next kiss came at him, Law returned it with equal force and made that particular sound he knew Doflamingo liked. Though while it was a part of his plan, there was no denying that nostalgic pleasure he received from it. A familiar spark just like the ones back when the two of them used to spend their nights rolling around between the sheets for hours. It was troubling, how easy he got into it. 

“Mmm.” A genuine moan this time, one that he hadn’t meant to make but didn’t think too much about. It did seem to excite Doflamingo though, if the responding growl was anything to go by. Law closed his eyes and lifted his now free arms to settle them around Doflamingo’s neck as if that would actually be able to pull him closer than he already was. 

Doflamingo pushed his knee between Law’s legs to spread them apart and with an upward nudge he had his darling arching his back and buck his hips in response. 

Their kiss held as much passion and anger as their fists, both men using this moment as another outlet for their frustration with one another’s betrayal. Violent, bloody and messy. It conveyed their feelings with more clarity than their previous conversation had, which begged the question of why they’d even bothered with words in the first place. It was just like Law had said, the two of them were men of action. 

_ ‘You betrayed me and I’ll never forgive you.’ _

_ ‘I love you but you have to die.’ _

_ ‘I want to kill you so badly.’ _

_ ‘You piss me off so goddamn much.’ _

Before he could start to enjoy himself too much, Law ever so slowly eased the grip of his legs around Doflamingo’s waist and took his time locating the area of the kidneys with his anatomical knowledge. While doing so, he coaxed Doflamingo with his tongue and hands, knowing just how to gain his ex’s undivided attention. His back was starting to ache from being pressed so hard against the wall and the intensity of the kiss left little room for air. He was getting hard too.

_ Concentrate. _

Regaining his focus to the task at hand, Law focused Haki into his legs and feet and then slammed the heels of his boots as hard as he could into the intended spots. 

The reaction was instant. Doflamingo's powerful hold loosened upon the impact to his kidneys and Law slipped out of his hands without a second thought and made a dash for Kikoku that laid on the floor some distance away.

Just as he was about to grab it though, fingers brushing against the fur-trimmed handguard, Doflamingo came after him and kicked him in the side with a swing of his leg. He was then suddenly yanked by the hood of his coat and thrown back. 

His back collided with one of the large windows at the other side of the room, the impact causing a few cracks to spread across the glass but not shattering it completely.

“You sly brat…” Doflamingo said through a feral grin and licked his lips, proud and frustrated at the same time, and slowly began to approach Law with his hands twitching at his sides. That slender neck looked really tempting right now... 

Law coughed up some blood before once more curving his lips up into a smirk. 

“I told you I’d take advantage if you slipped up.”

He blindly reached for something to support himself with, which happened to be one of the pink curtains hanging from that same window and upon hearing the material tear from the weight of his hold, Law glanced up with newfound interest. He gave the fabric a firm yank and successfully ripped down the metal curtain bar, catching it with his right hand. Then without a second though, before Doflamingo could get too close, he launched forward to attack with several powerful swings of the bar. 

He got a few hits in; one to Doflamingo’s leg, one to his ribs and the final one against the side of his head that would have knocked him out had he not been quick to use what little Haki he had time for. It did leave a bruise, though, and he staggered on his feet as his vision swayed for a moment. 

Law tried to take another swing at Doflamingo’s head, but the bar was grabbed in one of his big hands and then chopped in half by the other.

Law threw the two pieces of metal away and deflected a punch to his face, but was not able to escape the next attack of Doflamingo’s fingers swipe across his chest, leaving behind three long, red scratches. 

And so it went on for another ten minutes, back and forth with injury after injury but no distinct winner yet. The more their fight dragged on, the more violent and dishonorable it got, both men using whatever dirty tricks they could to get the upper hand over the other. 

The house was a mess and at some point they had made it outside without noticing and ended up in the middle of the garden in Doflamingo’s backyard. 

They stared each other down as they took some time to catch their breath; both were displaying wounds and bruises of all kinds and several of them were sure to leave scars. Their clothes were another indicator of their struggle, shredded, dirty and soaked with sweat and blood. It showed more on Law’s white attire, as he had planned from the start. But there was no way of telling how much of that blood belonged to himself and Doflamingo. 

“You’re exhausted, darling,” Doflamingo commented, but as soon as the words had left his mouth, his teeth clenched together hard as Law’s earlier blows to his kidneys took effect. 

Noticing this, Law chuckled though his bloodied lips and winced as a sudden bolt of pain raced down his spine. Even talking or just breathing a little too hard hurt. 

“Like you’re one to talk…” he spat out some blood before adding, “you’re fucked up too.”

Doflamingo’s demeanor suddenly changed and his smile faded into a neutral frown. 

“It’s such a waste…”

“...”

“You have so much potential. I always considered you my most promising student. I even thought of making you my right hand man and you would throw it all away for  _ paperwork  _ in some dingy workshop _. _ “

His blood-stained hands balled into fists at his sides and another vein throbbed next to another in his forehead. 

“I truly loved you.”

“Your love isn’t unconditional, Doflamingo,” Law bit out through another painful wince, “if you  _ truly _ loved me, then you’d let me go. If working with Eustass in his workshop doing paperwork was what I wanted to do, you’d let me!”

They lashed out with a kick at the same time. Their legs clashed just like their blades had done before, haki against haki and the physical strength giving way to a fight of will as both men were reaching their limit. 

“Unconditional? There is no such thing, gorgeous. Love is just another form of egoism. It makes you selfish in one way or another.”

A punch to Law’s chin. 

An elbow to Doflamingo’s ribs. 

“Would you call my love for you selfish then?” Law asked with another Jaguar Palm aimed for Doflamingo’s face, not surprised when it missed, “When I was yours I would have sacrificed myself for you without question!” 

After deflecting Law’s move, Doflamingo took hold of the latter’s arm and squeezed it tight. 

“Yes, even  _ your _ love was selfish. It made you write that note to me against your better judgement; not for my sake, but because it made you feel better about yourself. Because you wanted me to think well of you.”

“Shut up!”

“You would sacrifice yourself for me because pleasing me, the one you loved, would please you even more. It would make you feel good, even in death. That’s why you said those words to me in your last living moment.”

When Law tried to tug his arm free the grip around it clenched harder. 

“ _ Yes _ , my darling, even your love was selfish. In a different way than mine, but it was selfishness all the same. It was  _ conditional _ .”

“That’s not-”

“As for me, I would rather see you dead than with somebody else. My love for you demanded that I kill you before that could happen. It was  _ because  _ I love you that I  _ couldn’t  _ let you go. If I forgive you now and let you live, you must be mine.”

Law glared and bared his teeth to the other in a snarl, much like a rabid animal. 

“I don’t want your forgiveness. It’s too late for any redemption. I came here to kill you, that’s all.”

Law tugged his arm free and swiftly fished out a knife he’d hidden on himself. He slashed at Doflamingo who threw himself back and just barely got away with all his fingers intact. 

The two of them parted from their violence to take some more time to catch their breath again. Neither had much energy left and knew that their fight was coming to an end. The next clash would be the last, the final blow from which one of them would emerge as the winner.

Law sent a quick glance towards the glass sliding door leading into the living room. Kikoku was in there, on the floor at the exact spot where he’d dropped it before. Maybe if he made a dash for it he could reach it, albeit a risky move. Doflamingo would come after him and do everything in his power to keep Law from his sword. The door was rather far away and Doflamingo could cross that distance way faster than him. 

_ ‘Tsk.’ _

After all the trouble and waiting he’d gone through to get that damn sword and he wouldn't get to kill Doflamingo with it? 

Law then glanced back at Doflamingo and readied himself, but faltered ever so slightly upon recognizing his opponent’s stance. It was  _ not  _ the Crane this time and Law’s eyes widened involuntarily and his grip around the handle of his knife loosened as his hands began to tremble. 

The Celestial Dragon. 

Doflamingo’s ultimate technique that he only used against opponents he deemed worthy enough. Law had seen it in action twice during his time knowing the man; the first time it was used against a rival assassin who refused Doflamingo’s offer to an alliance and the second time Law himself had been on the receiving end during a particularly violent argument between the two of them. At that time he had barely stood a chance against it and one of the blows had left a scar on his left shoulder. And that’s saying something considering Doflamingo had gone easy on him. 

For someone so worn out, Doflamingo was surprisingly quick. So much so that Law barely had time to react; when he parried the claw-like hand coming for him he staggered and slashed with his knife whenever his opponent came too close without any specific aim in mind, just acting on impulse and hoping he'd hit the man somewhere. But it fell out of his grasp after a hard blow to his bicep, landing in the grass with a dull thud, and Law had just registered the pain when he was grabbed by the throat. He was slammed down to the ground with Doflamingo following to straddle his waist and kept his arms pressed to the ground with the weight of his knees. 

What was it now? The  _ third  _ time that Doflamingo had him pinned? 

_ Shit.  _

He raised his hand in a motion that Law was very familiar with. A Celestial Dragon move, a finishing blow that he had never in his past thought he’d be on the receiving end of, and suddenly felt unable to move or do anything to save himself. He stared wide-eyed at the hand above his face and swallowed thickly in his throat.

_ I’m dead.  _

Doflamingo observed his face with that same neutral frown, giving none of his inner thoughts away. He kept his eyes on Law the whole time, even when he moved and brought his hand down…

...and then the sight of his darling triggered a memory of them engaged in a sweet moment. 

_ Law on his back and hugging Doflamingo close to himself, moaning and panting in his ear, as he was reaching his limit and whispering oh so sweetly... _

_ ‘Doffy~’ _

Doflamingo’s hand came to a sudden halt just inches away from Law’s face. Just before he could deliver the final blow. 

He peered down his nose, over the rim of his sunglasses, at Law while remaining frozen in that position without a clear understanding of what he was doing and where this sudden hesitation came from. Why did he remember such things so clearly  _ now  _ of all times? Or rather, why had such a memory even  _ mattered _ ? His fingers twitched but he still couldn’t bring himself to finish what he started, hand remaining frozen and seemingly having a mind of its own. It just wouldn’t move when he willed it to.

Law blinked, heart beating so hard in his chest he thought it may burst, before processing the situation. Not about to let such an opportunity slide, he jammed his fingers into Doflamingo’s right shoulder, hitting a pressure point and leaving his dominant arm temporarily paralyzed. It fell to his side where it now hung limp and useless. Law then brought one of his knees up and successfully drove it up into Doflamingo’s abdomen and crawled free from the hold. But he only got up to his knees before Doflamingo recovered and grabbed him by the throat again. 

They stared at each other in silence before a weak grunt made it through Law’s mouth as the pressure around his throat increased punishingly hard and threatening to crush his windpipe. 

With his last strength he raised one of his trembling hands, fanned out his fingers and in a specific pattern stabbed them into the left side of Doflamingo’s chest, in the exact spot the pressure points of his heart were located. 

1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. 

In an instant, Doflamingo released him and fell to his hands and knees. A generous amount of blood spilled from his mouth with a loud cough. Law remained on his knees, and while sucking in lungfuls of air watched as the other man struggled to get up, panting and trembling and weaker than he’d ever seen him before. 

“Bastard...I wanted to kill you with Kikoku,” he muttered, but his voice lacked heat. 

Doflamingo breathed out a wheezing chuckle.

“Sengoku...taught you the *cough* Five Point Palm Exploding Heart technique.”

Law’s lips turned up into a bittersweet smile. There was no going back now; said technique meant certain death if performed correctly, which Law had done. The realization dawned on him and he wasn’t sure how to feel. It was less satisfactory than he had imagined but neither was he grieving. Doflamingo deserved to die and only by killing him would Law be truly free. 

He caught Doflamingo in his arms when he could no longer support himself. 

“He warmed up to me,” he replied and the snigger he received in return puffed against his bare chest. 

Doflamingo tilted his head back to look up at him. 

“Of course he did, gorgeous. He told me that out of all the brats I sent to him for training, you were his favorite.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Old fool even tried to convince me to let you stay another year. Even though your training was complete.”

Doflamingo suddenly groaned a little louder than before and pressed closer to Law’s chest with his brows scrunched in something akin to confusion. Law was able to identify the cause behind said reaction and said in a matter-of-fact tone, “I know. You haven’t taken a single step but you’re already feeling the effects.”

“Gghh…” Doflamingo bit out through his teeth and more blood spilled out to color Law’s skin with more red. 

The technique Law had used on him made it so that the target’s heart would explode in their body if said person took five steps. 

“Sengoku did teach me the technique, but once I fully understood how it works I tweaked it a little and added my own twist. Your heart will deteriorate even if you stay still. It’ll take a little longer, though. I even gave it a name. Wanna hear it?”

“Do tell.”

“Gamma Knife.”

“Oh? May I ask the meaning behind it?”

Law shrugged and gave out a laugh holding something akin to embarrassment. 

“I thought it sounded cool.”

Trying best he could, Doflamingo shared his amusement with a weak laugh. 

“Can’t argue with that.”

Doflamingo raised one of his trembling hands and cupped Law’s cheek. Now that the man was dying, Law allowed him that small comfort and leaned into the touch. 

“You’re amazing, you know. Not just as a fighter, but in every way. A little bratty and grumpy at times...and goddammit sometimes you can be such an infuriating little  _ cunt.” _

Law raised a skeptical brow, as if questioning the man’s sincerity. 

“But I love you for it. You’re my favorite person in the world and I don’t regret picking you up from that shithole of a town. And I certainly don’t regret falling for you. Even now.”

He coughed again before adding, “Actually, dying like this, in your arms, isn’t bad at all.”   
  


“Fuck,” Law bit out with a frustrated sigh and dragged one hand down his face to keep himself calm, “don’t say shit like that, you bastard. Not now. You’re making it difficult for me to hate you.”

Doflamingo managed a soft smile and rubbed the pad of his thumb against Law’s cheek bone. 

“Ah there it is. Your cute side.”

“Shut up. I don’t have a cute side.”

“So everyone else says. But  _ I _ know you do since I’m the only one who’s ever seen it.”

How could anyone say otherwise after witnessing that adorable, red blush on Law’s face.

“I have something to confess, gorgeous.”

“Oh?”

Doflamingo nuzzled Law’s chest lovingly, kissing the smiley tattoo between the two bows forming the top of the heart one, before pulling away to once again look up at him. 

“I actually think you look better in white. It makes you look so goddamn beautiful and when I saw you at the church that day I was blown away. I was just being a jealous prick and told you otherwise.”

Law didn’t know what came over him, but suddenly he leaned down and kissed Doflamingo. A soft and innocent touch of their lips that lasted for about five seconds. And when they pulled apart, he removed Doflamingo’s sunglasses and set them aside to have a last look at those blue eyes he so secretly adored. 

“Mmm. What a treat,” Doflamingo murmured with a gentle smile. 

“It’s all you’re getting.”

His arms tightened around Doflamingo’s body when he felt it weaken further. 

“Hey.”

“Yeah?”

“Before I go, can you say those words again?”

Law pretended not to know what he meant and averted his eyes.

“What words?”

“C’mon, don’t tease me. It’s my dying wish we’re talking about here. Even if you don’t mean it anymore, I’d still like to hear them.”

“For a man your age you’re really spoiled, you know that?”

“Only when it comes to you, gorgeous. If I have to beg, I’ll do it.”

Law’s face twisted into a grimace. 

“Don’t.”

To spare himself the embarrassment and displeasure, because he knew Doflamingo was serious with his threat of begging, Law decided to comply. Now that his revenge had been fulfilled, he was more inclined to go along with such a request. 

Taking a deep breath Law took Doflamingo’s face into his hands and leaned down to his ear and said in the genuine and soft way a true lover would, “I love you.”

And they both knew, despite everything that had transpired between them, that it was true. 

Doflamingo’s lips managed one last smile before slowly losing their tilt and fell into a neutral line as life left him. He became still in Law’s arms and his eyes lost their light until they became dull and unseeing. 

For another ten minutes or so, Law remained seated in the grass with Doflamingo in his arms and felt the warmth leave his body. In complete silence he watched him, ran his hands through his blonde hair and recalled all the happy memories the two of them shared. He even allowed himself to mourn the loss of him, but he didn’t feel any pain from it. No heartache or tears, no regrets or remorse. And while he considered this a bittersweet victory, he did embrace the sense of accomplishment that came with it.

He had gotten what he came for and he was finally free to move on. As much as he could, at least. He’d known from the start what an ugly thing revenge was and that nothing would be able to bring Eustass and the others back to him, or the life he’d wanted to share with them. 

But it was something he’d had to do; for himself and for all those people who suffered through Doflamingo’s stunt, all because of Law’s actions. It was his responsibility to bring them justice because in the end, it was partly his fault it happened. 

When Law decided to go back inside the house, he brought Doflamingo with him. He laid him down on the floor in the living room before taking a quick shower and getting changed with whatever clothes he could find that fit him well enough.

Once done he grabbed Kikoku and Mariejois -the latter now in his possession- and left the house. Someone was sure to notice the state of it soon enough and once the police got there, Doflamingo’s body would be taken care of properly. 

Although tempted to do so, Law left the Sunflower Plateau without looking back and with his car began to make his way back to Dressrosa. As soon as he left, he felt the long-lasting weight of his heart finally ease up and he allowed himself to smile with the relief and joy it brought him. 


End file.
